A Time For Lovers
by evgrrl09
Summary: While on a case in Seattle, Morgan is in a car accident and Garcia is rushed there to see him. Meanwhile, Prentiss meets Callie Torres after Arizona Robbins leaves her, and JJ may learn to love again when she meets bad-boy Alex Karev. Pairings: Morgan/Garcia, Prentiss/Torres, and JJ/Karev
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy...**

**Here's a crossover story between Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy! Primary character couplings are gonna be Morgan/Garcia, Callie/Prentiss, and JJ/Karev. Another quick note: Mark and Lexie are still alive.**

_Quantico, VA_  
"Oracle of Quantico, hit me with whatcha got!" Penelope said as she answered the phone with her fluffy pink pen.

"Garcia, it's Hotch," the stoic leader of the BAU team said. His voice sounded grave.

"What's up, Hotch?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"

There was some hesitation on Hotch's end. "Garcia, it's Morgan. He's been taken to Seattle Grace Hospital. We were in a car accident on the way back to the station."

Penelope's breath hitched in her throat. Her husband was just a car accident and was rushed to the hospital. Slowly she allowed herself to exhale and she rubbed her seven month pregnant belly, trying to calm herself down so as not to put stress on her baby. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

"We don't know," Hotch answered hesitantly. "We've got a plane ticket already waiting for you. You should be out here."

Rising from her desk, Penelope said, "I'm on my way now."

_Seattle, WA - Seattle Grace Hospital_

"Torres, we've got a car crash coming in," Dr. Owen Hunt called from behind the ER desk. "Several broken bones. We're gonna need you in the OR."

Dr. Callie Torres looked up from the chart she was filling out and nodded. Lately, she'd felt like the entire world was overwhelming her. Since Arizona had walked out on her anyway. It had been three months and she was still feeling sluggish about it. She'd thrown herself into work and tried forgetting about Arizona Robbins. She was a surgeon and she knew broken hearts didn't kill.

"Ambulance is two minutes out," Dr. Alex Karev said, coming outside with Callie. "It's a pretty nasty one."

Nodding, Callie made sure her gloves were secure and her hair pulled back. She didn't bother saying much anymore. There was no point. A light layer of snow was falling and Callie looked up at the darkened sky. Her eyes fell on the full moon and she sighed. It looked like it would be a long night.

Owen, Alex, and she were waiting for the ambulance when a black SUV pulled up with U.S. Government plates. From the front of the car jumped two women, one petite blonde woman and a tall brunette with pale skin. Both of them rushed towards the surgeons and flashed FBI badges at them. "We're Agents Jareau and Prentiss. We're here for Agent Derek Morgan. He should be arriving any minute," the blonde one said.

Callie's eyes fell on the brunette woman, Agent Prentiss, and she felt a slight fluttering in her abdomen. The agent didn't spare her a second glance, but Callie kept her eyes on her until the ambulance pulled up, sirens wailing through the night.

_Seattle, WA - Seattle Grace Hospital_

Dr. Alex Karev was glad to have a case where he could get into the OR, even if it was just a nasty car crash. He'd been down on his luck in most things lately: dates, surgeries. All he felt like he needed was a long vacation. And by the look on Callie's face, it seemed like she was still having problems too. Ever since Arizona left, both of them had been feeling like there wasn't much going on. Alex had lost a friend and mentor, Callie had lost the woman she loved.

Owen had called out that he needed Callie and Alex stepped in to help, even though he hadn't been asked. Callie seemed relieved to be having some help. She was staring up at the sky, not noticing much and Alex felt bad for her all over again. He couldn't believe Arizona would just up and run when she and Callie had something so great.

While they were out waiting for the ambulance to arrive, a huge SUV drove up and two women jumped out of it, flashing badges at them. Both were from the FBI. Alex saw out of the corner of his eye that Callie was busy staring at the brunette who had arrived. Her eyes were wide and Alex resisted the urge to smirk.

Maybe there would be some luck for Callie after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy or their characters. I just mash them up occasionally :)**

**Here's Chapter 2...I'm planning on having it this way: M/G established, P/C immediate attraction, and JJ/K will be a little more slow going. We'll see where it goes.**

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

"How is he?" Penelope asked Reid frantically as she got into the SUV at the airport. Her entire flight she'd worried and fretted about Derek. The team had been in Seattle for three days now and were chasing down a group of unsubs who worked together as a pack to kill couples in home invasions. Every case she worried about Derek's safety, as he was likely to be the one storming in and breaking down doors without much thought, but this felt much more real to her. The anxiety had caused her to throw up before she got on the plane.

Reid shook his head. "He was in surgery for a good while," he said. "Garcia, I'm going to let the doctors explain it to you. I'm really not qualified." He tilted his head towards her, most specifically at her belly. "How are _you_?"

"My husband was in a potentially fatal car accident and you're asking me if _I'm_ okay?" she exclaimed. Her hands were rubbing her baby bump anxiously now. Tears filled her eyes and she hurriedly wiped them away.

Reid looked at her sympathetically. "We'll be there soon. Just concentrate on staying calm."

The drive felt unbearably long. When Reid was finally guiding Penelope to Hotch in the hospital waiting room, she rushed over to him, leaving Reid trying to make her walk carefully. "Hotch, where is he? Who is his doctor?"

A very handsome man with brown wavy hair and dark blue scrubs came up, a chart in his hands. He smiled softly and held out his hand to shake Penelope's. "You must be Mrs. Morgan," he said. "I'm Dr. Sheppard, the neurosurgeon working on your your husband's case."

Penelope's mouth dropped open and dried out. "Neurosurgeon?" she croaked.

Dr. Sheppard nodded. "Yes. We found a blown pupil when he was brought in and we found a bleed as well. We were able to stop it, but he needs to be kept under close observation for the time being. I don't want you to be alarmed, but he is in a coma at the moment. There's no telling when he will wake up."

"Will -will he wake up?" she asked tearfully.

"It's not entirely clear," Dr. Sheppard said sadly. "I'm hopeful. If he does wake up, he's going to have one hell of a recovery ahead of him. He looked at his pager that began to buzz and nodded swiftly at Hotch and Penelope. "I'm sorry. I have a 911."

Penelope stood with tears in her eyes and looked down at her belly, praying that her husband would wake up soon. She prayed his coma would be short lasting, so he could wake up and see their daughter be born.

_Hours Earlier - Seattle Grace Hospital ER_

The ambulance carrying the FBI agents arrived and Callie was directed to the more serious looking patient. "Forty year old, African American male, head trauma, his left leg is completely shattered," the paramedic said, taking the stretcher out of the ambulance. He finished filling Callie in on the rest of his stats and she and the rest of the doctors helped wheel him into the ER.

"Patient's name is Derek Morgan," Callie said, taking a look at his leg. "Mr. Morgan, can you hear me?" Alex was up at his head with Owen and they were shining light in the man's eyes. "Mr. Morgan, can you talk?"

He finally choked out, "My partner? Is Rossi okay?"

"He's okay, he's just unconscious," Owen told him, listening to his heart rate. "Mr. Morgan, do you have any family we can contact for you? Anyone other than your fellow agents?"

He coughed and his heart rate sped up. "My wife, Penelope," he managed to say. "Please don't stress her out, though. She's pregnant. Have one of my team call her. Someone who knows her." There were tears in his eyes and he repeated himself several times. "Please, don't scare her. I'm fine. Tell her I'm fine."

Callie paused and stared at the man they had on the stretcher. His wife was pregnant and he was wanting to keep her calm. She remembered when she'd mentioned wanting to have children with Arizona. It was what caused her to leave in the first place. In front of her was a man who would do anything to ensure his wife wouldn't worry about him and she could barely get the woman she'd wanted to be her wife to want kids. Where had she done wrong in her relationship to miss out on the same type of love this man had with his wife? Grasping his hand briefly, she said, "We'll get someone to call her."

"Torres, page Sheppard," Owen said as he clicked his light off. "He's got a blown pupil."

"On it," she said, hurrying to page Derek Sheppard.

As she was hurrying to get a hold of their neurosurgeon, Agent Prentiss showed up and put her hand on her arm. Callie looked up at her, startled. "Is Agent Morgan going to be okay?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Stammering, Callie said, "We're taking him to surgery now. We'll be sure to keep you updated. And he asked that we have one of you call Penelope, his wife."

Agent Prentiss nodded and said, "Thank you -"

"Callie," was all she said before hurrying off to get ready to wheel Agent Derek Morgan into the OR.

_Seattle Grace Hospital Waiting Room_

"Derek Morgan?"

JJ sat straight up in her chair and looked to the surgeon who'd just emerged from the entrance to the ORs. One of the doctors who'd been waiting when the ambulances had pulled up was waiting for them and his face was grim. The rest of the team had gone to get something to eat in the hospital cafeteria and she was the only one of them waiting for any updates at the moment.

"That's me," she said, going up to the doctor. "How is he, Dr...?"

"Karev," he said brusquely. "And we've found a bleed in his brain. Our neurosurgeon is in repairing it right now while Dr. Torres fixes his leg. He almost crashed on us once, but we were able to bring him back. Currently he's stable. I'll be back to give you another update when we're finished."

"Thank you," JJ murmured, returning to her seat. She rubbed her temples tiredly and took a drink of her coffee. Penelope would be arriving in a few hours to meet them there and JJ was currently equally worried about her as she was about Derek. If something happened to him, she didn't know what Penelope would do. Derek was not only the love of her life, but her best friend. She wouldn't be able to survive without him.

When Will had left her for another woman, Penelope had been there for her every step of the way, so if something happened to Derek, JJ had every intention of being there for her. Penelope always knew how to make someone feel better, and it comforted JJ to know that she would always be there for her. Seeing Will when he came to pick Henry up or drop him off and seeing his new wife was always painful and whenever she called, Pen was two minutes away with ice cream and hugs.

Penelope was confident JJ would fall in love again, that she would when the time was right. But Will had been gone for two years and the only men she ever saw were the ones on her team and her son. She hoped to God that Penelope was right. She wanted to love someone again the way she'd loved Will.

Next to her, her phone rang and she grimaced when she saw Will's number. Taking a deep breath, she pressed 'talk' and said, "Hello?"

"JJ," Will's southern drawl said. "Were you planning on calling Henry tonight?"

Frowning and glancing at her watch, JJ sighed and said, "I'm sorry Will. We ran into a problem in Seattle and I lost track of time. Derek -"

"You couldn't take ten minutes out of your day to call him?" he snapped.

JJ felt tears prick at the back of her eyes that her ex-husband thought she would simply 'forget' to call and talk to her son. "No, Will! It wasn't a case. Morgan and Rossi were in a car accident. Derek's been in surgery for a few hours, we've had to call Pen, it's just been a long day in general." When there was silence on the other end of the line, she rolled her eyes and clarified, "And before you go snapping about how serious Derek's injuries may or may not be, you should know that he has a bleed in his brain and his left leg is completely shattered."

Will dropped the subject of her being in Seattle entirely and said, "Henry wants to talk to you."

"Mom!"

Immediately JJ tried to lighten her tone. "Hey buddy! How are you?"

"I'm good Mom!" he said happily. "Ms. Cheryl said you'd forgotten about me, but I didn't believe her." Henry always referred to his stepmother as 'Ms. Cheryl' and babbled things she said about JJ. He didn't like his stepmother, "not one bit" he'd told his mother.

"No, buddy I haven't forgotten about you," she said softly. "Ms. Cheryl was wrong. No, I'm still in Seattle. Your Uncle Derek and Uncle Dave got hurt in a car accident."

"Are they going to be okay?" Henry squeaked. "Because if anything happened to Uncle Derek, I think Auntie Penelope would be really sad." His use of five year old logic was almost laughable to JJ. He was almost as smart as his godfather. Reid's genius must have been passed through her belly when she was pregnant with Henry and she'd forced an uncomfortable Spencer to feel him move.

"Yeah, buddy," she whispered, wiping tears away from her eyes. "They think they're going to be okay."

XXXXXX

Alex watched the blonde agent for a moment before rushing back to the OR. There was something in her eyes other than the compassion she had for her team members who were injured. There were some fairly clear signs of loss and sadness that he felt an odd connection to. Though she was probably not thinking of him, he knew he was thinking of her as he reentered the OR.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy. I just love them dearly and enjoy playing with them.**

**Here's chapter 3!**

_Seattle Grace Hospital Waiting Room_

Emily was carrying two cups of tea into the waiting room when she found Penelope sitting, her face tilted down to look at her pregnant belly. She sat rubbing small circles on it, trying to calm herself down. Going up to her, Emily put a hand on her shoulder and offered her the tea. "Hey Pen," she murmured softly. "Drink this."

Penelope looked at her blankly and accepted the drink, sipping it. "Thanks Em," she said.

"How are you holding up?" Emily asked sympathetically.

"I'm going to be...fine," she said shakily. "Fine." As she took another sip of her tea, Emily looked up to see the doctor who'd just called herself Callie when asked her name. She was coming towards them and Penelope rose from her seat. "Dr. Torres! Is anything wrong?"

She shook her head and smiled. "No. I just came to tell you that you can go in and see him if you want," she said kindly. Her eyes shot to Emily, but she quickly pulled them away, as if she was embarrassed. "C'mon. I'll take you to him."

XXXXX

Emily stayed outside while Penelope went in to see Derek for the first time since arriving in Seattle. She dropped a kiss on her husband's forehead and sat down next to the hospital bed, taking his hand in the process.

"What's their story?"

Emily turned to look at Dr. Torres next to her. There was something making her curious about the beautiful Latina doctor and it partly had to do with the fact that she was acting like Emily was making her nervous. She'd called herself Callie instead of Dr. Torres when asked who she was, she fidgeted if Emily accidentally got too close to her.

Looking back at Penelope and Derek, she smiled. "Oh, Pen and Derek? Their story is crazy. They've been best friends for the longest time and Derek had always been in love with her. After she broke up with her longtime boyfriend he finally got up the courage to ask her to dinner. They got married a year ago." She added, "You should've seen Derek's face when he found out she was pregnant. I thought he was going to fall over he was so happy." She turned to Callie. "Do you have any children, Dr. Torres?"

When she asked, Callie's face looked pained. "No," she said. Her voice came out more as a choke. "I want them, but my partner - left me when I told her." She glanced at Emily again and laughed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she said. "Too much information."

Emily shook her head and smiled. "No big deal." Her eyes locked with Callie's and she felt her insides grow warm and quiver for a moment. Callie looked like she wanted to say something else, but her pager went off at her side and she sighed.

"I've got to go," she said, looking at Emily again. Turning, she started to head off, but looked back again at Emily. She ran into a counter and her face turned red. She was gone before Emily could ask if she was okay.

It surprised Emily that she was disappointed when she disappeared around a corner.

_Derek Morgan's Hospital Room_

Penelope's lips touched Derek's bandaged forehead and she stroked his cheek gently, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Hey, Hot Stuff," she murmured, carefully taking a seat next to the bed. There was silence save for the beeping hospital machines and the sounds of the building. Sniffling, she took his hand and brought it to her lips to kiss it. "You gonna wake up for me at some point? Please?"

Derek's face remained stony, unmoving, still.

"So, our little one has been kicking up a storm," she told him. "She misses your voice. _I_ miss your voice. We haven't talked since you got to Seattle." Feeling more tears well up in her eyes, she said, "Derek, you need to wake up. Not for me, but for our little girl. Please."

A knock sounded from the door and a young doctor stepped in. "Hi, I'm Dr. Lexie Grey," she said kindly. "I'm just here checking up on Agent Morgan. Dr. Sheppard also wanted me to come in and meet you. I'll be keeping an eye on your husband's condition."

Penelope nodded blankly and smiled at the younger woman. "Thank you."

"You know, I heard you talking to him," Lexie said. "Talking to him is going to be good. It'll help you." She went about, checking Derek's vitals.

"Really?" Penelope said sadly, wiping away some tears. "Because right now I don't think much is going to help me. Just him waking up."

_Seattle Grace Hospital Cafeteria_

"Agent Jareau?"

The blonde woman looked up at Alex and smiled softly. "Dr. Karev," she said. "How's Derek doing?"

He nodded. "He's good for now. Mrs. Morgan is with him right now," he reported. Impulsively he sat down across from her and said, "Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

The agent shook her head. "I'm staying here with Penelope until she's ready to go," she said. "Then I'm going back to the precinct we're working out of. We still have to catch the men we came here for originally." She absentmindedly checked her phone. "The team will be able to stay after we finish the case to stay with Derek. Our section chief gave us a leave for two weeks."

Alex looked at her at her carefully and said, "You guys are here working on those home invasion killings?"

She looked back up at him and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It's a rough case to work."

"Isn't your whole job?"

"Yeah, it is," she replied. "We work primarily violent crimes. It's horrible."

"Human beings are horrible to each other," Alex muttered. "It's just a fact of life." He looked at her staring at him and laughed, "What?"

"You think that?" she asked. "That people are always horrible to each other? You're a doctor... shouldn't you think a little more highly of people?"

Alex snorted. "No," he said gruffly. "In this year alone, I've watched a friend of mine pack up and leave just because her partner wanted to have kids. She was also my mentor, and she just left. I've seen my ex-wife come in with her new husband and she acted like she didn't even know who I was. So, no. I don't think very highly of people."

"Well that's your loss," she snapped. "Because despite the horrible things that my team sees, I know there is good in people. You just have to find the right ones." Getting up from the table, she stalked out of the cafeteria, dumping her coffee cup in the trash before she pushed out the door.

**So…was it okay?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Here's chapter 4. I hope everyone likes…**

_Seattle Grace Hospital Resident Locker Room_

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Lexie asked Alex as he was sitting, glaring at the wall. "You look like someone just ran over your dog."

Alex looked up at her and smirked. "I never owned a dog," he snorted.

She laughed and sat down next to him on the bench. "Seriously. Spill. Does this have anything to do with the surgery you did involving the FBI agent. Because Hunt said you did a great job. Both you and Torres."

"Oh, that," he said, nonchalantly. "No, nothing to do with the surgery. Just one of the agents that came in. The blonde one."

Lexie smirked. "Oh, Agent Jareau? Yeah, she's cute. Torres seems rather taken with Agent Prentiss, too." She let out a snicker. "What is it about FBI agents that's so sexy? Maybe it's the charisma?" she mused.

"Pfft," Dr. Cristina Yang said. "There's nothing charismatic about that blondie who brought in your patient tonight. If you ask me she's more than likely one of their secretaries."

"Not everyone is super tough looking like you, you know," Lexie shot back.

Alex shook his head. "Nah, there's something about this chick," he said. He didn't mention that it was her fearlessness in arguing with him that made him insanely attracted to her. There weren't a lot of women who had done that with him. Izzie had been one of them, but she'd left, married someone else. "Something interesting?"

Cristina sniffed. "Yeah? What's that? Her ass?"

"Lay off, Yang," Alex snapped.

"Whatever," she laughed. "Go get her, lover boy."

"I think it's sweet that you have a crush on her," Lexie said sweetly. "She's cute. And clearly she's smart because she's working with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit."

Alex got up and said, "She probably won't stick around too long. Her friend is the patient's wife. And I'm rooting for this guy to wake up. He and his wife sound like some of the only people in the world who can make it." Inside, though, he was hoping Agent Jareau would be staying with her friend and fellow agent. He may have had a spat with her, but if he could apologize to her, he'd love to get to know her. And not just because he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd seen in months.

He got up to go check on Agent Morgan.

When he got to the room, he heard Agent Jareau trying to argue with Agent Morgan's wife, Penelope. She was trying to convince her that she needed to get some sleep and should be heading back to their hotel. Penelope insisted on staying, going so far as to snap at her friend. A rare compassionate light bulb went off in Alex's head and when he noticed Dr. Derek Sheppard filling out a chart at the nearby nurse's station, he strode over, hoping his idea would be well-received.

"Dr. Sheppard?" he asked.

"What's up, Karev?" he asked, barely looking up from his writing.

"I was wondering, Agent Morgan's wife is refusing to leave and get some sleep at the hotel, and I figure it might be good for her and for the baby if she stayed here," he began. "Her entire team has to work the case that they came here to do, and if she was here someone could look after her. Could we maybe let her use one of the on-call rooms?"

Derek paused and looked up at Alex, his features slightly interested. "Okay," he said. "She can sleep in the on-call room that just so happens to be right next door to her husband's room." He tilted his head towards the room. "Karev? I expect you to keep an eye on her."

"Sure, sure," Alex said, before dashing off in the direction of Agent Morgan's room. Derek stood, staring after him for a moment, wondering what had gotten into the resident doctor that had him so excited about helping a patient's wife.

_Derek Morgan's Hospital Room_

"Penelope?"

Penelope looked up to see JJ coming into Derek's room and she smiled. "Hey Jayje," she said softly. "What's up?"

JJ looked at her sympathetically. "You need to get some rest," she said. "It's been ten hours since you've sat down next to him. You need a shower and a bed."

"I'll be fine," Penelope said. "I'll just head back later."

"Pen, you need to get some sleep," she said. "We can get updates and –"

"JJ, I just want to stay with him," Penelope snapped.

A knock sounded from the door again, and both Penelope and JJ looked up to see Dr. Karev. JJ glared at him, but Penelope just looked at him tearfully. "Um," he said cautiously. "If you want, I can let you stay in one of the on-call rooms. It's not usually done, but I cleared it with Dr. Sheppard and he said it was cool. The room is just right over this way and Dr. Grey and I are going to be around for a while. She'll stay with you while she does her rounds during the evening."

JJ was staring at him, completely shocked, but Penelope got up and looked ready to hug him. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "You have no idea how grateful I am."

"No problem," he said with a lazy smile. "If you follow me, we can get you situated. I paged Dr. Grey and she'll be here in a minute."

Penelope went and tearfully kissed the top of Derek's head. "I'll be back, Hot Stuff," she said softly. "I love you." When she turned around, she saw JJ looking at Dr. Karev with hostility. She arched an eyebrow at her friend in question, but didn't push it. JJ followed her to the on-call room and pulled her into a hug.

"You and little miss get some sleep," she murmured. "I'm sure Dr. Grey will take good care of you."

"What's up with you and Dr. Karev?" Penelope asked, elbowing JJ affectionately. "You're glaring at him like he ran over your puppy."

"Not a conversation I care to spill on," she muttered. "I wonder what's got into him that he's being so nice. It seems out of character."

"Jayje, you've known him all of forty eight hours," Penelope said. "He can't be that bad."

As she finished talking and JJ was about to open her mouth again, Dr. Karev came out from the on-call room and grinned, "In here, Mrs. Morgan."

Penelope looked at him and said, "Please, call me Penelope. Mrs. Morgan makes me feel older than I want to be."

Dr. Karev smiled and responded, "Well, in that case, call me Alex."

XXXXX

"Mrs. Morgan?"

Penelope looked up from the bed she was perched on and saw Dr. Grey coming in. She smiled at the younger woman and said, "Penelope. Please."

Dr. Grey smiled softly. "Okay," she said, sitting opposite Penelope. "I'm going to hang with you for a little while if that's okay. I've just got rounds tonight to do, but other than that I'm free."

"It's cool," Penelope said. "Thanks for letting me invade your on-call room. I know this is sort of unorthodox."

"Yeah, but if Alex advocated for it on your behalf, then you must be pretty special," Dr. Grey said. "He's usually pretty stony-faced. We used to call him 'evil spawn' around here."

That made Penelope laugh. "I don't know him very well, but my husband's a profiler, so I've picked up a thing or two on how to read people. Something tells me it has to do with my friend JJ."

Dr. Grey snorted. "I noticed that too. Alex has a thing for the ladies. Particularly blondes."

"Just know that if he hurts my girl, I'll be forced to alter his credit history so bad he'll never be able to find a loan anywhere for the rest of his life without selling his soul," Penelope told her bluntly. "Jayje has been through a lot lately. Her asshole husband left her for another, less intelligent bimbo and she's just got her son Henry right now."

Dr. Grey shook her head. "I think he gets it. He's had his own share of heartache lately."

Penelope nodded. "It sometimes feels like the whole world is nothing but one big mix of the stuff."

_Seattle Grace Hospital ER_

"Can't believe I walked into a counter," Callie grumbled. "What kind of an idiot does that?"

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Alex asked, coming up behind her.

"Oh, I met a cute girl and I made a fool of myself in front of her," she said bitterly. Alex and she had become somewhat of confidants lately. After the departure of Arizona to be precise. They both would talk about their girl problems, usually over drinks at Joe's.

"Ah, Agent Prentiss," he said with his usual smirk. Callie shot him a confused look and he clarified his knowledge of her attraction. "You couldn't stop staring at her when they arrived."

"Oh," was all Callie said. "Oh, I heard what you did for Mrs. Morgan," she added. "That was uncharacteristically sweet of you. You do know she's married…"

Alex snorted. "If I'm trying to impress any of those women it would be Agent Jareau. We had an argument, but I'm hooked. I don't know how I'll feel when she goes back to Virginia."

"Karev, you met her forty eight hours ago and you already pissed her off," Callie argued. "Something tells me you're not a match made in heaven."

"Yeah, well you only met Agent Prentiss forty eight hours ago and you're already tripping over your own feet," Alex retorted.

Both of them were silent for a moment and then Callie said bitterly, "Word," and fist-bumped him before heading out of the ER.

**Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. Christmas time and all.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own either of them.**

**Sorry about the delay on Chapter 5 here. Hope you all enjoy!**

_Precinct Where the Team – One Day Later_

"Thank God we caught them," Reid said tiredly, sipping his coffee. He and Hotch were leaving the precinct, getting ready to go to the hospital to see Penelope and Derek. "I think it would be better for Penelope if we were with her for this."

"Well, I hope Morgan wakes up soon because two weeks is all we have before Strauss expects us back in Quantico," Hotch said solemnly. "And you're right. If he's still out when she has the baby, I don't know what she'll do."

"The two of them truly are soul mates," Reid said truthfully. "I'm more of a statistical fact person, but I think he'll wake up for her. At least I think…"

XXXXX

"Where's Penelope?" Hotch asked Dr. Lexie Grey when they arrived.

Lexie looked up at them and said, "Oh! You're the rest of the agents. Well, Dr. Karev asked letting her stay in one of the on-call rooms for the time being. We didn't know when you would be back and I've been hanging with her so she wouldn't be alone."

Reid looked at her as she went to change Derek's feeding tube. "Dr. Grey, what is the probability he'll wake up before his wife has the baby?"

Lexie looked up at him, a sympathetic look on her face. "I really don't know," she said. "It could be any time. It could be months. We'll just have to monitor him closely. By the way, is there any other family we need to notify?"

"Yes, but we've already called his mother and sisters," Hotch explained. "They'll be here in a few days."

"Good. That's good," Lexie said with a smile. "Oh, and I'll go get Penelope, er, Mrs. Morgan that you're here."

As she left the room, Reid smiled and said, "Looks like Garcia's making friends already."

Even Hotch let out one of his rare smiles. "Too true."

"Hey guys," Penelope said as she came into the room tiredly. She looked like she hadn't slept much in the past twenty-four hours. "You both are here…does that mean you caught the sons of bitches you came here to catch?"

Hotch nodded. "Yep," he reported. "All of them. Stopped them before they got another couple."

"Good, good," Penelope said softly. "So? How long did Strauss give you guys off?"

"Two weeks," Reid said. "It's surprising how understanding she was." He raised his eyebrows and grinned mischievously.

Penelope teared up and threw her arms around Reid. "Thank God! I thought I was going to be alone for a while."

Hotch put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "No way."

XXXXX

_Seattle Grace Hospital, Nurse's Station_

"Dr. Torres?"

Callie looked up from the chart she was filling out and found Agent Prentiss holding two cups of coffee. She looked at them strangely and said, "Agent Prentiss. Uh, is that for –"

"For you, yeah," Agent Prentiss said with a smile. "Here." She handed over the coffee and added, "Thank you, for helping Derek."

She smiled sheepishly and felt a blush creeping up her face and all the way to her ears. "Oh, well, my job."

"Still, I appreciate it," she said. "Oh, and since you introduced yourself at first as Callie, I figured you can call me Emily." She stuck out her free hand to shake. "So, Callie…I'm Emily. Nice to meet you."

Hesitantly, Callie grasped Emily's hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Emily." The blush on her face grew even worse when Emily held onto her hand a moment longer than a normal handshake would last.

Emily let go of her hand and said, "Well, I'm going to go see Penelope. She's probably wondering where I am. I had to finish up some last minute details with the station before I could leave."

"Okay," Callie said shakily. She gave an awkward wave of her hand as Emily disappeared from view. Her hand still tingled from where Emily's skin had met hers.

From behind her came a "Humph" and she turned to see Alex, leaning against the counter and smirking. "That went well," he said with a laugh in his tone. "She brought you coffee. When's the first date? Better yet, when's the wedding? Do I get to be your maid of honor?"

Callie glared at him and hissed, "Piss off, Karev. I'd like to see the same thing happen with you and Agent Jareau."

"Oh, well I'm not on a first name basis with her, am I?" he snickered. "You on the other hand get to call Agent Prentiss 'Emily.'" He grinned foolishly and said, "Yep. The wedding bells can be heard already."

Going over closer to him, Callie smacked his arm and said, "I'll let you know when I'm ready to pick out colors and place mats. Until then, back off and work on Agent Jareau." Leaning into his ear, she added, "They call her 'JJ' by the way. You should try it out. See where it gets you."

Sauntering off, she could hear his laughter in the back of her ears.

XXXXX

_Seattle Grace Hospital, Main Entrance_

JJ walked into the hospital, shaking off the rain that was on her coat. It was part of the reason she hated coming to the Northwest. Far too much rain for her liking. She strode into the elevator where she stopped short. Dr. Karev was in the tiny, confined space. And he was the only one in there.

Sighing, she got in with the smirking doctor and pressed the button to Derek's floor.

"Hey…JJ."

Whirling around, JJ glared at him and demanded, "How did you know that was what people call me?"

He grinned. "I have my ways," he snickered.

Pushing the 'stop' button on the elevator, she said angrily, "Okay, let's get one thing straight. I do not like you. You're an arrogant asshole who –"

All of the sudden she was backed up against the wall of the elevator with Alex kissing her passionately. For a moment she didn't respond, she was so shocked. But then she found she was responding, her mouth moving in perfect harmony with his. His tongue gained access to her mouth and she let out a soft moan at the taste of him. This felt _so_ right. Only when he broke away and rested his forehead against hers, did she snap back to reality. Pulling back, she backed away slowly and made the elevator start moving up again. She didn't speak the rest of the time and wordlessly left the elevator, her heart still racing from the encounter she'd just had that left her wanting more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy or Criminal Minds.**

**Sorry about the delay on this chapter. Life has been getting in the way of my writing time. I hope you all enjoy!**

_Derek Morgan's Hospital Room_

Penelope sat down next to Derek's bed and took hold of his hand. She'd gone to the hotel to sleep the previous evening, and was up immediately when she could be back at the hospital for visiting hours. There was no change in his expression; he was stone still, peaceful. Though it had been a few days since his accident, Derek was still no closer to waking up. Rossi had been discharged relatively quickly, his only injuries being cuts and bruises and a sprained ankle. He insisted on staying in Seattle with the rest of the team instead of being shipped back to Quantico to rest.

"Hey Gorgeous," she said softly, touching his cheek momentarily. "So, today I'm officially eight months pregnant. It's getting closer and closer every day." She wiped tears away from her eyes and said hoarsely, "Derek, you need to wake up. I'm so scared I'll have to do this alone and I can't do that. I'm not strong enough."

A knock sounded from the door and she turned around to see JJ coming in. She was carrying a cup of coffee for her and tea for Penelope. On her face was a hesitant smile. The two of them had not spoken alone since Penelope had snapped at her. She smiled at JJ and accepted the tea. "Hey, Jayje," she said. "Look, JJ, I'm sorry about snapping at you the other night. I wasn't thinking and I was upset and –"

JJ laughed. "Penelope, stop!" She pulled up the second chair in the room to sit next to her and sat down. "It's okay. You were upset," she said. Nodding towards Derek, she added, "And understandably so. No worries."

"Morning!"

Both women turned around to see a chirpy-looking Alex coming in the room, a bright grin on his face. Penelope smiled widely and said, "Hi Alex. You seem happy." Next to her, Penelope caught JJ's scowl and grumbling. She had to hide her smirk.

"Oh, I met this girl a few nights ago and I can't get her off my mind," he responded, checking Derek's heart monitor. "She's –"

JJ stood up abruptly and said to Penelope, "Well, I'm going to see if Hotch and Emily are here yet. Dave and Spence should be right behind them."

"They're talking to Dr. Torres," Alex said happily, whistling a little.

Penelope hid her smile as JJ glared at the cheery looking surgeon. "_Well_, then I'm going to call Henry. Cheryl's probably been telling him his mother's never coming home."

"If she does, I'll make her credit history so bad she'll never get it fixed," Penelope vowed. Taking JJ's hand, she gave it a small squeeze and watched her stalk out of the room, pulling her phone out of her pocket on the way.

Alex stared after her when he thought Penelope wasn't looking. Gently, she asked him, "So, you want to tell me anything about this girl?"

Looking at her and smiling, he said, "You know more about her than I do."

Penelope smiled and looked at Derek, as if she was trying to tell him something in his comatose state with just her eyes. "Well, she's a single mom, divorced. She's a kind, caring, and gentle person, and in our job it's hard to be that way. And she's had her heart ripped out, ground up, and stomped on, so she's extremely fragile." She looked at Alex with an arched brow and said, "Tread carefully, Dr. Karev."

"Did you just give me your blessing?" he asked.

"I just gave you a warning," she responded. "I like you, don't make me regret that."

As Alex was about to respond, the beeping on the monitors began to sound louder and the numbers began to drop. Penelope looked up in horror at the machine that showed her husband's heart rate dropping. Immediately, Alex punched a button that brought several nurses running into the room. One of them ushered Penelope up from her seat and out of the room as Alex called out, "Code Blue!"

"What's wrong with him?" she asked desperately.

"He's in cardiac arrest," the nurse said before disappearing back into the room.

Penelope watched as Alex put two panels onto Derek's chest and shouted, "Clear!" He tried it twice to no avail. "Charging 300." Tears were now coursing down her face as she watched Derek get jolted with electricity in an attempt to start his heart again.

Hotch, Emily, and Callie came up behind her and she looked at them, a petrified expression on her face. Hotch and Emily stayed put while Callie rushed into the room to help Alex. It was clear they succeeded in reviving him when the monitors returned to normal and the nurses came out of the room. Penelope went back into Derek's room and looked at Callie and Alex. Both of them were looking at each other, quietly trying to figure out what happened.

"It could have been something we missed when he came in from the accident," Callie speculated. She turned and saw Penelope, Emily, and Hotch and said, "He went into cardiac arrest, but from what we don't know yet. We're going to run an EKG and a few other tests. We'll let you know something as soon as we know."

Penelope looked at them and nodded mutely. "Okay," she croaked.

XXXXX

Emily put her hand on Penelope's shoulder as Callie and Alex told her they'd have to run tests on Derek because he'd gone into cardiac arrest. She'd never seen her look so scared. Hotch led them both out of the way so the doctors could run their tests and they went and sat in a waiting room. Penelope still hadn't said anything.

"What happened?" Rossi asked, limping over.

"Pen, why don't you come with me?" Emily said, leading her away from Hotch and Rossi. "We'll go sit down. You look a little pale." She led her away from the two men and settled her in a seat.

"Emily?" Penelope asked her. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Emily didn't know how to respond to her question. She wasn't a doctor, she had no idea what would happen. All she could do was hope. Hope that her partner would wake up so he could be reunited with his wife. "I don't know, Penelope," she said. "I really don't." Her mind wandered to Callie and all the questions she might be able to answer. She thought about their encounter over coffee. Their hands had touched and she'd felt a spark ignite. The sultry doctor's eyes made her feel different than she had in a very long time. Warm and serene.

It was difficult to comprehend how her partner could've left her. She seemed like a beautiful and compassionate person, inside and out.

Hours later, Lexie came to tell them they could return to Derek's room while they waited for the results of the tests to come in. At Penelope's request, the rest of the team left her alone in the room with him for a little while.

"I'll stay with her if you guys want to go and get something to eat," Emily said to the rest of the team. "You can bring me something back later."

"You've got it," Hotch said, patting her shoulder. "C'mon guys. Let's go get some food." The rest of the team left to get dinner, leaving Emily standing alone in front of Derek's room. Penelope was full out sobbing now, letting all her pent up emotions out as her pregnancy hormones ran rampant through her body. The moment Emily tried to comfort her, she'd sent her back out of Derek's room, insisting that she wanted to be alone. She'd left her because she figured she needed the cry.

"She's strong," Callie said, coming up behind her. "She'll be okay. And at this point I think it's safe to say so will her husband. I wouldn't worry too much."

Emily looked at her and smiled. "Good," she said. "Any idea on when he'll wake up?"

Callie shook her head, her raven black pony-tail rustling in the process. The black curls looked shiny under the lights and Emily had to resist the urge to touch them. "Nope," she said. "But we've eliminated any serious threats to his heart, so he's just in a coma right now."

"How long 'til he'll be able to walk properly again?" Emily asked.

Smiling grimly, Callie said, "Ah, my true area of expertise. It'll be awhile, and I can't say it's going to be fun for him during physical therapy. I don't see him being able to run around doing what you guys do for a job for a long time. He's going to have to sit on the sidelines for a little while."

Emily blew out a sigh. "Oh, he's going to love that," she said bitterly.

"Somehow I figured you would say something like that," Callie laughed slightly.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked. "What makes you say that?"

A blush lit up Callie's face. "Oh, well, you just seemed like…" Her breath stilled as Emily put her hand on her arm.

"I'm kidding," she laughed, leaning up to kiss Callie on the cheek. It happened so fast, Emily was almost positive she had imagined getting the courage to do it. She stepped backwards and blinked several times. Callie looked as shocked as she felt.

"I…have a surgery…" was the last thing Callie said before Emily saw her get on the elevator. She almost face palmed herself. What the hell had she just done?

XXXXX

After talking to Henry on the phone, JJ had taken some time to herself to lean against the wall and think. Was Alex really trying to get a rise out of her in front of her friends? She still couldn't get his kiss out of her head. The tingling in her lips had not yet faded and when she looked at him or thought about him it intensified. Going into Derek's hospital room that morning, she'd had every intention of venting about the kiss to Penelope, but then _he_ had come barging in. And what frustrated her more was that Penelope couldn't stop smiling over it!

Before leaving for something to eat with the rest of the team, she saw Alex standing at the nurses' station, clearly flirting with some other girl. His face was lit up in a bright, sexy grin and the girl threw her head back to laugh. JJ wondered if this girl was going to be getting the same kissing treatment in the elevator that she'd received. What truly surprised her was the jealousy she felt burning in her veins. Alex's eyes drifted over to where she was and met hers. She didn't even want to try and figure out what was going on in his head. Turning on her heel, JJ stormed off to get dinner with the team while Penelope and Emily remained at the hospital.

**Sorry JJ and Alex's portion is so short this time. It'll be longer for the next chapter. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's Chapter 7…sorry about the delay in releasing it. And thank you to everyone who's reviewed! It's much appreciated!**

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

JJ went back to see Penelope after the team had gotten dinner to relieve Emily of her watching their friend. None of them had gotten much sleep in their time in Seattle between the accident happening and finishing up the case. Emily was going to go back to the hotel with the rest of the team for the night while JJ was staying with Penelope until she was in need of rest. She was also feeling slightly fluttery about seeing Alex again, even though she was blazing with jealousy over his encounter with the nurse.

On the way to Derek's room, JJ caught sight of Emily talking with Callie. They were both smiling brightly and talking with each other like they were old friends. She resisted the urge to smirk. There had never been any indication that Emily was gay, but she certainly seemed to be getting friendly with Derek's orthopedic surgeon. And the surgeon seemed to reciprocate the attraction. In fact, it was almost too obvious that she was taken with Emily. She blushed whenever she spoke to her, she stammered when she was speaking in front of her, and she looked at her longingly. It was something out of a storybook, the way the two of them watched each other.

Emily saw JJ from behind Callie and waved. "Hey JJ," she said. "You here to take over for me?"

JJ nodded and smiled, handing Emily a bag of takeout Chinese food they'd gotten her while out to eat. "General Tso's and Egg Drop Soup for you," she said as Emily took the bag.

"You know me too well," she said sweetly.

Smiling back, JJ said, "I'm going to go join Penelope. Is she letting us in the room with her now or does she still want to be alone with him?" She was generally concerned about her friend. It wasn't entirely clear to her why she was ignoring any support the team was offering. Instead, she was finding solace in just being alone with Derek's coma-ridden form. Every so often they heard snippets of the one-sided conversations she was having. It was evident that she was worried Derek wouldn't wake up before she had the baby. She was terrified of not having him awake when she gave birth to their daughter.

"Okay," Emily said, turning back to Callie as JJ walked away. "Now, where were we…"

JJ did smirk this time.

As she walked down the corridor of the hospital, she passed Lexie and Alex. Instantly her stomach began to churn with nervousness at seeing him. It scared the hell out of her that she was feeling this way about someone she'd met only a matter of days ago, but she couldn't figure out how to fix it. Holding her head high, she tried walking past them by only smiling at Lexie. "Hey, Dr. Grey," she said as friendly as she could manage.

Lexie smiled and waved. "Hi!" Her eyes shot over to Alex and she watched as he walked forward to follow JJ down the hall. Neither of them saw the sad smile on her face as they retreated on.

"Can I talk to you?" Alex asked, stopping her by grasping her upper arm gently. "Please?"

JJ stopped and whirled to look at him. "No," she said flatly. "Let go of me so I can go see my friend."

Alex's face turned irritated and he didn't let go of her. Instead, he pulled her backwards into a supply closet and blocked the exit so she couldn't get out. "Why won't you talk to me?" he demanded.

"Why do you think?" she retorted. "You're an ass and I don't like you."

"I beg to differ," he snapped. "In the elevator, you kissed me back. Don't think I missed that. You enjoyed that kiss. You wouldn't let go of my waist until you broke the kiss." He said each word like he was throwing it in her face.

JJ felt herself blush and she said, "That was a fluke. Just because you kiss well doesn't mean I'm going to like you. You're a flirt. You talk to women, you screw them, and you leave them."

"Don't say that to me like you know me," he growled. "I may have used to be like that, but not anymore." He huffed. "I'm trying to get to know you, but you keep pushing me away. What are you so afraid of?"

She didn't respond at once. She was fighting him because she was afraid of someone hurting her the way Will had. She was fighting him because she couldn't stand the thought of getting attached to another human being because connection had failed her in the past outside of her team and her son.

"Let me out," she said, trying to fight the burning tears in her eyes.

"No," he replied bluntly.

"Let. Me. Out."

"No." And then he pulled her into another kiss, this time gentle and tender. And just like last time, she melted into it, clutching him like he was her only line to the world.

XXXXX

_Joe's Bar_

After she finished her food, Emily went out looking for a bar. She was in need of a drink and she was in need of it solo. Thinking alone was what would help her clear her head and reevaluate her situation regarding Callie Torres. The more time she spent with her, the more attracted to her she became. It took all her energy not to return to the hospital and find her and spend more time with her. She did ironically find herself walking in the direction of the hospital, but she was going to the bar across the street.

Snow was falling lightly from the night sky and the moon was shining brightly, not a single cloud covering it. It was so hard to believe that Derek could be in a coma on such a peaceful night. If she banished the thought of him on the bed with Penelope keeping vigil at his side, it was almost like he was still with them fully.

When she entered the bar, she started immediately for the counter and sat down, removing her coat in the process. "What can I get for you?" the bartender asked as she settled in her seat.

"I'll take a vodka soda," she said, getting her money out from her pocket.

"Coming up," he said, going to work on her drink.

The bar was relatively packed, lots of people drinking, laughing, or throwing darts. Emily looked around and saw a lot of faces she'd seen at the hospital and quickly deduced that this was where most of the hospital staff spent their hours after work. The bartender slid her drink across the bar to her and she gratefully accepted it, sipping the alcohol and allowing her thoughts to wander.

"This seat taken?"

Emily swiveled in her seat and saw Callie, not dressed in the scrubs she usually had on when she saw her. Instead, she was wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans and a purple, low-cut top that revealed her generous cleavage. Emily had to fight not to stare at her chest.

Smiling softly, Emily gestured to the seat and said flirtatiously, "No, not at all."

Callie set her bag down and sat, smiling in the process. Turning to the bartender, she said, "Joe, can I get a martini? Dirty."

Joe smiled at her and said, "Sure thing, Callie." He winked at her and set to work shaking the drink.

"So…" Emily began, sipping her drink again. "What brought you here?"

Callie's eyes met hers and she smiled seductively. "You did," she said, accepting her drink from Joe.

XXXXX

Penelope rubbed her face and looked at the clock. She was going to have to be leaving soon. Visiting hours were almost over. JJ was supposed to be coming soon, but she had yet to make an appearance after the team had gone to get dinner. Rubbing her belly, she looked back at Derek and said, "Hot Stuff, I'm so tired right now. I wish I could get some sleep. I just can't seem to close my eyes."

A nurse knocked at the doorway and said gently, "Mrs. Morgan, I'm sorry but visiting time is over now." She looked at her sympathetically and Penelope rose from her seat.

"Okay," she murmured, going to Derek's head and kissing the top of it. "Goodnight, Baby." Grabbing her bag, she headed out the door and looked around in the halls. Still no sign of JJ. Turning to the nurse who'd come to fetch her, she asked, "Hey, did you see my friend who's been with me?"

The nurse shook her head. "No, sorry," she replied, returning to her work.

Puzzled, Penelope went in search of JJ. She eventually found her in secluded hall, staring out the window, some tears rolling down her face. Immediately she made her way over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Jayje? Honey, what's wrong?"

Sniffling, JJ replied, "A lot, Penelope. A hell of a lot."

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked gently.

JJ turned to look at her. "Do you ever feel…like you want to take a giant step, but you're afraid of where it might lead you? Like there are two options, but you're so afraid the bad one will come true? I feel…I feel like I'm holding a scalding cup of coffee and I'm about to sneeze. And if I sneeze, the coffee will spill all over my lap and burn the shit out of me." She wiped some of her tears away let out a small, bitter laugh. "Does all of this sound crazy?"

Penelope shook her head and said, "No. Not at all. You sound human." She figured what JJ was talking about was Alex Karev. Her heartbroken best friend was falling for someone again and she was scared. She was scared shitless. Penelope could understand and she felt terrible for her best girlfriend for the pain she was in. Her ex-husband flaunted his new wife, the "other woman" was trying to wiggle her way into Henry's life and replace her, and she was falling for a doctor who lived three thousand miles from where she lived. Everything was overwhelming her and Penelope could plainly see it. Pulling her into her arms for a hug, she said, "You'll figure it out, JJ. You're strong. Stronger than you think you are. And I'd be willing to be things would work out in your favor and the coffee would miss your lap entirely if you spilled it."

Laughing, JJ hugged Penelope back and said, "Maybe."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 8 of this little saga! Thank you so much for the reviews :) You are all awesome!**

_Joe's Bar_

Callie could hardly believe the words that had tumbled out of her mouth two seconds ago. She watched as Emily Prentiss choked on her drink and coughed into her hand. Internally she was beating herself over the head with a stick. Externally she stared at the olive floating in her martini.

When Emily finally spoke, her voice came out in a squeak. "Me?"

Looking up to meet her eyes, she took a deep breath and laughed nervously, "Oh! I'm sorry; words just come out of my mouth like word vomit sometimes." She laughed again.

Emily shook her head, her eyes wide. "No, no," she said hurriedly. "Don't be sorry. It's just…"

She shook her head, holding up her hand, knowing she had just royally embarrassed herself in front of an incredibly attractive FBI agent. "Emily, it's okay," she said softly. "I get it. Lately I've just been off. I just keep talking and saying things that aren't –" She didn't' have a chance to finish because Emily had pulled her by the collar of her pea coat and her lips descended on Callie's. Her tongue collided with hers and Callie instantly responded, letting the sweet taste of Emily's mouth fill her.

The agent who had a tough exterior and didn't at all seem warm and fuzzy tasted like cotton candy and raspberries. Callie couldn't get enough of it. She brought her hands up to wrap them around Emily's neck and she let herself get lost in the most intoxicating kiss she'd ever experienced. Her fingers tangled in the dark brunette hair that she'd become so entranced with in the days since Agent Derek Morgan had been brought in with head trauma and a shattered leg.

It wasn't until they both heard several whistles from around the bar that they pulled away from each other. Callie was blushing as she saw her best friend, Mark Sloan grinning like the shameless fool he was and Derek Sheppard shaking his head. Owen and Cristina were laughing and Callie had to shake the urge to go throttle both of them. Looking back at Emily, she bit her lip and smiled shyly. Leaning closer to Callie again, she whispered in her ear and said, "My hotel is a short walk away."

Touching her thigh softly, Callie murmured back, "My apartment is just down the block."

XXXXX

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

Alex sat on one of the beds in the hallway where he and his fellow residents spent their free time. He was by himself at the moment, his head tilted back to lean against the brick wall, his eyes trained on the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about his last encounter with JJ. Their kiss had been so different from the one in the elevator. Where that one had been filled with lust, this last one was tender and needful. It had been over far too quickly for his liking and when she'd left without a word, he'd been confused. One moment she was clinging to him like she needed him, but the next she treated him like they were mortal enemies.

Penelope had warned him that she was heartbroken and a single mom. He wondered what her husband had done to her that made her so frightened of every other male on the planet. Blowing through his lips, he continued thinking of ways he could prove to her that he wasn't like the bastard who'd left her. He wondered if Penelope would help him. She seemed to like him well enough and she wasn't like most of the patients' families he saw come through the hospital.

He remembered when he'd seen Izzie for the first time in ages when she came in to the hospital with her new husband. They'd parted on less than good terms, but he'd never expected she would ignore him entirely and treat him like she had no idea who he was. The heartbreak he'd endured when Izzie left him was terrible and he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Part of him had no idea why he was so attracted to JJ. She was nothing like the women he'd been with before. She wasn't catty, she wasn't superficial. Yes, she was beautiful, but that wasn't what he'd been drawn to at first. The look in her eyes, the compassion, the sadness that the rest of her face _could_ hide, was what had sunk its claws in and made him interested. He wanted her to want him. More than he'd wanted anything in a long while.

Why, though? There were millions of people in the world who'd felt what it is to have their hearts broken. What was so special about Agent Jennifer Jareau that drew him to her like a kid to a candy store?

It wasn't against the regulations of the hospital to get involved with her. She wasn't a patient, so the thrill of forbidden fruit wasn't a factor. It was just simple attraction, except there was nothing simple about the way he was feeling. His emotions were burning through him like his body was nothing but rice paper. Thank God he didn't have any scheduled surgeries because he would be so distracted that he wouldn't do any good for the patient.

And that frightened him. No woman had ever made him so distracted he didn't think he wouldn't be able to operate.

What was the world coming to if he could focus on a person other than the one on the table in front of him? What did it mean if he would follow her to the ends of the earth, even if it meant leaving Seattle Grace for somewhere like Virginia, to be happy? What did any of this mean?

"Life's a bitch," he growled, rising from the bed and trudging back down the hallway to finish his rounds before he went home.

XXXXX

Penelope and JJ returned to their hotel as soon as they left the hospital. Along the way, they stopped in a convenience store.

"Why are we stopping here?" JJ asked as they made their way through the stark white walls of the CVS they'd gone into.

"We're getting ice cream for when we go back to the hotel," Penelope stated simply, halting in her tracks in front of the freezer section. She pointed down at her pregnant belly and said, "My little one wants some, I want some, and I have an itching suspicion that you want some. I want Chunky Monkey, what'll you have?" She grabbed the pint of ice cream and looked expectantly at her friend.

Smiling softly, JJ laughed and hugged Penelope. "You always know what to do," she said. "I'll have cookie-dough."

Grinning, she grabbed the other pint JJ had requested and said, "Let's get skidaddling then!" They paid for the ice cream and were back out in the snow, walking to the hotel. Along the way, Penelope tried to make simple conversation before the more serious talk she and her best girlfriend would have as soon as they reached the warmth of their hotel. Once the door to her room was closed, though, and they were sitting on the couch, she delved into the deep, hoping JJ would be in a sharing mood.

"So, what happened?" she asked, taking the lid off of her ice cream and sticking her plastic spoon in the cold concoction. "Between you and Alex?" She noticed JJ's hesitant face, but continued to stare at her expectantly. If Derek were here he would scold her for prying, but he was asleep on a hospital bed, so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Sighing, JJ relented and took a bite of her ice cream. Penelope listened intently as she spoke, hanging onto every word and contemplating her best advice. She finished by saying, "That's when I just…left the room. Well, not really a room. I mean, it was a supply closet. Not much of a room." She huffed and took a huge bit of her ice cream, licking her lips when she swallowed. "Damn, that's good shit," she groaned appreciatively. "Ben and Jerry never fail me."

Penelope looked at her friend a moment longer before replying. "Listen, Jayje," she said softly. "I really think you should give this guy a chance. He seems like a good guy, despite his attempts at appearing like a smart-ass." She meant every word she said. Alex Karev seemed like he was awesome. And he appeared to be very interested in JJ. Penelope really liked him. "I mean, that kiss that you guys just had. It doesn't sound like the one in the elevator at all. It sounds like he really is trying to get through to you. And if I'm not mistaken, he admitted to being a player in the past." Blinking, she added in a whisper, "Much like Derek, it sounds like."

Nodding in agreement, JJ replied, "Yeah. It does sound a bit like Derek, doesn't it?" As she was about to open her mouth to talk again, her phone buzzed at her side and her look darkened. "It's Will," she said bitterly. Looking back up at Penelope, she said, "I'm sorry, Pen. I'd better take this. I don't want Henry telling me Cheryl is planning on never letting me see him again." Hitting 'talk,' she rose from the sofa, setting her ice cream down and went into the hallway to talk to Henry.

"Tell my favorite godson 'hi' for me!" Penelope called after her. Sighing, she too put her ice cream down and put her hands on her baby bump. "Hey little girl," she said softly. "Do you miss your daddy as much as I do?" A soft kick was all she got in response and she laughed. "I'm hoping he'll wake up soon, little one. I'm really, really hoping so." Exhaling loudly, Penelope leaned her head back against the cushions of the couch and let her eyes flutter shut, thinking how much she wanted Derek back so he could talk to their baby again through her stomach. Both she and their daughter missed him and wanted him back.

**Don't worry, Derek is gonna wake up soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Whew! Sorry it took so long for this chapter…I've been working on 'Nothing' a lot. This chapter is rated M for the first part of it. Anyhoo, here's the next one and thanks for the reviews, as always!**

_Callie Torres' Apartment_

As soon as Emily and Callie were in the elevator at her apartment building, their lips crashed together again. The kisses were frenzied, as if they couldn't get enough of each other's taste. Callie's hands went up to Emily's breasts, causing her to moan with pleasure. Her fingers fiddled with Callie's shirt, her fingers grazing the scorching hot skin of her abdomen. The two nearly fell into the apartment when Callie unlocked the door.

"Nice place," Emily murmured, kicking the door shut behind them.

"Thanks," Callie giggled, pulling her shirt off, revealing a lacy red bra that Emily's hands immediately went to, feeling the hardness of her nipples. She shivered with desire and let her hands go around Callie's back to unclasp the bra.

"You are stunning," Emily breathed when Callie's bra fell to the floor. She took time to yank her own top off. Her cleavage was nowhere near the caliber of Callie's, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

The two fell backwards onto the sofa and Emily, on top, unbuttoned Callie's jeans, helping her slide out of them. Emily's hand slid up her thighs and under her lover's soaking underwear and she let out soft cry.

"Spread your legs," Emily commanded.

Callie did so, grinning devilishly. As Emily stroked her gently, Callie writhed underneath her and moaned, "Please…" She closed her eyes and couldn't stop the panting that escaped her mouth. Her lips found Emily's again and she gave her a fiery kiss. "Oh my God!" she screamed as Emily fingers reached her core. "You must've done this before."

Emily just laughed and kissed her again, smiling as Callie came beneath her.

XXXXX

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

JJ and Penelope returned to the hospital the next day and JJ was looking forward to seeing Alex again. Her stomach felt filled with fluttering butterflies and her forehead began to sweat. She was going to open up and test drive a relationship with Alex Karev. Or at least a date. She was going to take Penelope's advice. The two of them arrived at Derek's room where they met Lexie changing an IV line. She turned and smiled brightly at the two women.

"Hi!" she said in her chirpy voice. "I was going to try and find you later today, but it appears you found me. Your husband had a spike in brain activity last night!"

Penelope blinked in shock and grabbed Lexie's hands tightly. "Is – is he maybe going to wake up soon?"

Lexie held her hands and said kindly, "It's possible. Dr. Sheppard's going to be making a stop by after his other surgeries this morning to take a look at him.

JJ smiled as a teary-eyed Penelope threw her arms around Lexie hugged her tightly. When she backed away, she wiped her eyes, sniffling, "I'm sorry. I got carried away."

Smiling with understanding, she said, "Not a problem, Penelope. I've got to go finish my rounds. Let me or a nurse know if you need anything."

Before she left the room, JJ stammered in a question, "Er, where's Dr. Karev? Is he here?"

Lexie grinned broadly and Penelope smirked. JJ blushed as Lexie told her, "Unfortunately, no. It's his day off today."

"Can you tell me where I can find him?" she asked, her voice even more quiet.

"Sure! He's at the house we all room in. I can get you the address. Just give me a minute." Lexie almost skipped out of the room.

"Gonna try and get lucky?" Penelope asked, waggling her eyebrow in a way very similar to her husband.

"No!" JJ exclaimed, turning a whole new shade of scarlet. "I'm just going to talk to him. I want to…ask him something."

Penelope snorted. "Whatever you say," she laughed.

Lexie came back with a piece of paper and smiled brightly. "Here's the address," she said, handing over the paper. "He's the only one there." She added the last sentence with a wink and exited the room quickly.

"He's the only one there," Penelope giggled quietly as JJ smacked the back of her laughing head and stomped out of the room.

XXXXX

JJ stood out on the stoop of a house and rang the doorbell, straightening her hair and putting her hands in her coat pockets. From behind the door she heard footsteps coming towards the front door. The door opened to reveal a shirtless Alex in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. His eyes widened and he said, "JJ?"

She smiled nervously and asked, "Can I come in?"

Backing up to give her room to enter, Alex said, "Oh, sure." She walked inside and gulped as she saw his chest up close. Her mouth dried up and she looked around. "Sorry about the clutter," he apologized. "I live here with both Dr. Sheppard, both Dr. Greys, and two other residents." Shaking his head, he smiled nervously.

An awkward silence covered them for a moment and then they both started talking at once.

"Listen, JJ –"

"I'm sorry about –"

Laughing, JJ said, "Okay, go ahead."

He smiled genuinely and said, "I'm sorry about this whole thing. I get it if you don't want to speak to me anymore. What I've been doing is totally inappropriate and I didn't think about that."

Shaking her head, she said, "No, Alex. You don't understand. I'm here because…well, I want to maybe go on a date. With you…"

"Oh," he said. "I'd love to." Pulling her by her waist to him, he planted a kiss on her lips. And instead of fighting him this time, JJ wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him right back.

XXXXX

Penelope had watched JJ stalk out of the hospital room and laughed to herself the entire time. "Hot Stuff," she said to Derek, "you should see JJ. She's twitterpated with one of your surgeons." Sighing, she added, "She's falling for someone since Will. It's good for her."

Derek's still form remained where it was.

"Still, I don't know what's going to happen when we leave here," she murmured, stroking her hand down his cheek momentarily. "If they're really going to be serious, it's going to be really hard for her. Being three thousand miles away from Seattle isn't good for relationships. Long distance relationships inevitably come to an end."

As Penelope was sitting there, holding Derek's hand, she felt a sudden rush of wetness between her legs and she looked down, her eyes growing wide with shock and fright.

"Nurse!" she cried, rising from her seat. "I need a nurse!"

Rising from her seat, she rushed out of Derek's room and ran smack into Lexie. Lexie looked at her with concern and asked, "What's wrong, Penelope?"

Gulping and feeling tears rolling down her cheeks, Penelope croaked, "My water just broke."

**So little baby Morgan is on the way! Will update soon. I can't promise it'll be up super-fast because I'm working on my other big story right now and school started again. But I will write whenever I can :) Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own neither Criminal Minds nor Grey's Anatomy.**

**Sorry about the massive delay on this chapter! I've been working on 'Nothing' (which is done now!) and I have a research paper too. Anyways, here's the next chapter of this :) Please review!**

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

"What's going on?" Rossi asked frantically when he saw Lexie ushering a very distraught Penelope out of Derek's room. "Is he okay?"

"Penelope's in labor," Lexie said hurriedly.

Shaking her head and choking on a sob, Penelope whimpered, "No. There has to be some way for you to stop it. I can't do this without him!"

Rossi took Penelope's arm and said, "Kitten, if your baby is coming we have to let her come. Don't worry. Derek will wake up soon. But right now we need to worry about you."

"Rossi, I can't do this without him!" she cried. She groaned as a contraction came on.

"Yes, you can," he said firmly. "And you're going to have to because your baby girl needs you. Right now it's time to take care of her and you. Can you do that for me?"

Biting her lip and nodding, Penelope followed him along, tears rolling down her face. "Okay," she whispered.

XXXXX

_Callie Torres' Apartment_

Callie woke up to find Emily stroking her hair. "Hey," she yawned with a lazy grin. "How long have you been up?" She turned on her side to face Emily. "Long?"

Emily smiled and said, "Only about thirty minutes."

After their rendezvous on the couch, they'd moved into Callie's bedroom and were now burrowed beneath her comforter. Emily's hand was resting on Callie's bare hip and she gave her a soft kiss. "Good morning," she whispered.

"You too," Callie said. Sitting up, she added, "It's been awhile since I've woken up with a beautiful woman in my bed."

Looking at her curiously, Emily asked, "Were children all that got in the way of your relationship with your partner?" Noticing Callie's hesitant look, she threw up her hands and said, "I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

"It was mostly just kids," Callie said quietly. "And the ironic thing about it was she was a pediatric surgeon." Taking Emily's hand, she laughed, "I don't know where she went. She just up and left one day, saying she couldn't be in a relationship with me anymore." Her eyes took on a distant look. "My relationships have just been extremely fucked up the last few years."

"I understand that," Emily laughed, pulling Callie towards her for a kiss. "But let's not worry about that right now. Do you have to be into work today?"

Running her fingers down Emily's neck, Callie shook her head and murmured, "No. I've got the whole day off. Any ideas on how you want to spend it?"

Emily pulled her by the wrist towards her and kissed her softly. She ran her hands over Callie's breasts, feeling as her nipples hardened under her fingers. "I have a few," she said huskily, moving to straddle her hips and grind against her.

Moaning softly, Callie kissed her fiercely and said, "I'm good with your idea."

"I didn't tell you my idea yet," Emily whispered against her lips.

"You didn't have to," she said, flipping her over so she was on top. "I could read your mind. It's one of my many…special…talents." She interrupted each word with a kiss along Emily's jaw. "And you, Emily Prentiss, are getting a first viewing at what all of those are."

Giggling, Emily let herself fall under the spell of Callie's kisses and murmured, "Show me what you got, Dr. Torres."

XXXXX

_Home of Alex Karev_

"Well, that was some date," Alex panted as he fell next to JJ on his bed. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "You are one amazing woman, JJ."

Smiling, JJ turned on her side and kissed his shoulder. "You're one amazing man, Dr. Karev," she said.

"And, out of curiosity, what does 'JJ' stand for?" he asked, pushing some of her hair out of her face. He could run his hands through it all day, but he settled for resting his hand against her cheek instead.

"Jennifer Jareau," she said softly.

"JJ is fitting," Alex said.

Sitting up, she pulled the sheet up around her body and asked, "I've got a question."

He sat up as well and leaned back against the wall. "Sure," he said. "Ask away."

"Why did you – what, I don't know, drew you to me?" she asked. "I mean, I get the impression that you don't normally make moves on every friend of patients' wives. And we argued that first night Derek was in surgery. So, what drew you to me?"

He sighed. "When I looked at you when I came to tell you how your friend was doing, you had something in your eyes that just reminded me of myself after my wife left me. For some reason, I thought you might understand."

"Did you think I might understand before or after my motor mouth friend told you my husband left me for another woman?" she teased.

His face was serious when he answered her. "Before," he said. "Although Penelope did fill me in on a thing or two."

Shaking her head and smiling, "That sounds like PG."

Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. "G? I thought her last name was Morgan."

"It is," she said. "We still sometimes call her Garcia, though." Pulling him by the neck to her, she kissed him firmly on the lips and said, "But as much as I love Penelope, I don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about _you_."

"What about me?" he said with a lazy grin.

"Are you really as much of an ass as people paint you to be?" She moved to lie on her stomach and set her chin on his chest. "Because from what _I_ hear, you're nicknamed 'Evil Spawn' a while ago." She laughed at the expression on his face. "Face it; people think you're an ass. And from my first actual conversation with you, I'd say they were right."

He shook his head and laughed. "I suppose I was," he admitted. "But that was a long time ago. I like to think I've changed."

Smirking, JJ kissed him again and said, "Change is good. 'Cause even though you're an ass, I like you anyway."

XXXXX

_Seattle Grace Hospital – Many Hours Later_

Hotch swore as Emily's phone went straight to voicemail. "Any luck?" Reid asked coming up behind him.

"No, neither JJ or Prentiss are answering the phone," he said. Looking at Reid, he asked, "How's Rossi doing in there with Garica?"

Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, he said, "Well, between her cursing like a sailor and constant agony over Morgan still being in a coma, I'd say he's doing okay. There's nothing that'll keep her calm right now and it's putting the baby in distress."

Hotch looked through the glass into the room where Penelope was struggling with her much more rapidly coming contractions. A nurse was checking how dilated she was and she looked up to the doctor who was coming in the room. She nodded her head and Penelope looked devastated. Rossi was holding her hand, trying to get her to stay composed.

"God, why can't JJ or Prentiss pick up their damn phones?" Hotch said angrily. "Where are they?"

XXXXX

"Oh my God!" Penelope cried in pain. "Are you serious? I can't be ready to start pushing! It hasn't been long enough."

"Kitten, you're going to have to start pushing if you want your baby to come out okay," Rossi said soothingly.

"Rossi, I can't do this without him," she said. "I can't!"

"Yes, yes you can!" Rossi said firmly. "Because Derek is with you, okay? He's in your heart. You're his Baby Girl. He's always with you. So you need to push. You need to bring your little girl into this world so that when her daddy wakes up she can meet him. So you have to push!"

Looking at Rossi tearfully, she nodded and winced before letting out a cry as another contraction came. With Rossi telling her to breath and the nurses telling her to push, she tried to stay calm and focus on pushing rather than on the fact that Derek wasn't there. She was breathing heavily, letting out another shriek with a push. "Guys, I can't do this," she said tearfully.

"One more push, Penelope," the nurse said gently. "I can see your baby's head. You just have one more push to go."

With her emotions on high, Penelope grasped Rossi's hand tightly. "I really wish Derek was here," she whispered. Even with the epidural in her system, she felt an immense amount of pain and mixed with her fears she had tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I know Kitten," Rossi said, smoothing some of her sweaty hair back. "But for right now you'll just have to deal with little ol' me."

Bracing herself for one last push, she let out another earth-shattering shriek and felt a sigh of relief when she heard the cry of a baby. While nurses cleaned her up, she tried desperately to see the daughter she'd just given birth to without her husband in the room. Rossi kissed the top of her head and said, "See? You did it."

Smiling weakly at him, she looked up at the nurse and asked, "Can I hold my baby?"

The nurse's eyes smiled from behind her face-mask and she handed over the small bundle that enclosed Penelope and Derek's daughter. "Here's your baby, Mrs. Morgan," she said. "She's adorable. She's got your eyes." When the baby girl was settled in her arms, Penelope saw that the nurse was right. The little girl – who had black hair and skin only a shade lighter than Derek's – did have her mother's brown eyes.

When the baby's cries softened and she began to look up at her mother, Penelope felt tears in her eyes and she murmured, "Hey little girl. I'm your Mommy." Sniffling, she added, "And you're Elizabeth. But your Daddy wants to call you Lizzie. Is that okay with you?" She smiled at her when she gurgled softly, her little tongue poking out of her small o-shaped mouth. Rossi smiled at mother and daughter and it almost melted his heart. Penelope kissed her daughter's small head and murmured, "And I promise you, your Daddy will wake up soon."

XXXXX

_Derek Morgan's Hospital Room_

The first thing Derek felt was his mouth being dry. His eyes weren't quite open, but he knew his mouth was like an arid landscape. He felt his lips move slowly and they formed the word, "Penelope." Where was his wife? He vaguely remembered being in an accident, but what he was most worried about was Penelope. She was nearing her eighth month of pregnancy and he knew she shouldn't be stressed out.

When his eyes finally did open, his vision was foggy. He saw that he was in a hospital room and his leg was patched up in a cast. Bringing his hand up to rub his pounding head and felt that it was covered in gauze. "Damn," he grumbled to himself. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."

"That's because you were," a voice said. "Or at least rammed into by a truck. You had a bleed in your brain and you have a nasty break in your leg. In fact it's pretty much shattered." Squinting, Derek saw a man in dark blue scrubs with wavy hair and a handsome face.

"Who are you?" he asked tiredly. "Do you know where my wife is?"

Smiling, he replied, "I'm your neurosurgeon, Dr. Derek Sheppard. You had a spike in brain activity last night, so I came to check up on you. And you're awake." Marking something off on his chart, he added, "And your wife is in the maternity ward. She went into labor early this morning."

Sitting bolt right up, Derek began to panic. "Jesus, please tell me she's okay. She's always been nervous about this because she thinks she'll be scared. Please, you need to let me go to her. I have to see her. Is she still in labor? Or –" He began to try and get up, wincing at the sharp pains he was feeling.

Coming over to stop him, Dr. Sheppard put his hand on Derek's shoulder and said calmly, "Okay, Mr. Morgan, you know I can't let you move yet. You can't walk –"

"I'll try," Derek argued fiercely. "I'll crawl the whole way if I have to."

Shaking his head, the doctor said, "No, but if you're doing okay soon, we can get you in a wheel chair and let you go see them."

"So my daughter was born?" Derek asked with his voice frantic.

"I'm afraid I don't know that," he said solemnly. "But I can have Dr. Grey – she's one of the doctors assigned to your case – come and let you know. She's the one who escorted your wife to the maternity ward. I'll page her and have her come tell you."

Nodding his thanks, Derek said, "Please. Just let her know that I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should've been there."

Dr. Sheppard smiled at him and said, "She knows you would be there if you could. Your wife loves you very much. She hasn't left your side since she arrived in Seattle and she's already befriended my residents. They fought on her behalf to let her stay in one of the on-call rooms the first night she got here. My guess is there won't be anything to forgive."

**HE'S AWAKE!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own not a thing.**

**I tried to get this one out more quickly seeing as I have no other huge projects I'm working on. More drama in this chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews! They are much appreciated :)**

_Home of Alex Karev_

JJ and Alex woke up to his alarm that rang at five in the morning. Leaning over JJ's sleeping form, Alex hit the alarm off and kissed her bare shoulder, running his fingers up and down her arm. She smiled in her sleep and asked, "Do you have to go to the hospital?"

Pushing her hair out of the way, he placed delicate kisses on her neck and inhaled the sweet smell of her skin that was a mix of raspberries and sex. "Yeah," he whispered, pulling himself out of bed and throwing on his boxers. JJ sat up and smirked.

"You look rather sexy in the morning," she said with a sultry voice. Getting up from his bed, she put on one of his t-shirts and followed him to the doorway. "Where's the shower?"

Pushing her against the door with his body, Alex smirked. "Follow me," he said, kissing her softly.

XXXXX

After showering, JJ returned to Alex's room and checked her phone. There were over twenty missed calls from Hotch and two from Will. Scrunching her brow, she dialed Hotch's phone first to see what had happened even though it was five thirty in the morning. She would call Henry later.

"Hotchner," Hotch answered sleepily.

"Hotch, it's JJ," she said. Alex had come into the room now and was dressing, looking at her curiously. "I saw you called a lot. Is everything okay?"

He huffed. "Now _one_ of you resurfaces," he grunted. "Where the hell have you been?"

Stuttering, she said, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm nowhere important. I lost track of time."

"Well, as soon as you are allowed into the hospital, you may wish to go over there. Penelope had her baby – a little girl named Lizzie. And Derek's awake now."

JJ smiled. "I'll be there as soon as I can!" she exclaimed, putting her phone down and hurrying to dress quicker.

"Nowhere important, huh?"

As she finished dressing and was pulling her hair back, she turned to Alex. He was still throwing clothes on, but he seemed annoyed. And slightly hurt. "Alex…" she murmured. "I can't exactly tell my boss that I was out sleeping with someone I met only a week ago."

Alex wasn't sure why, but her quick response of being "nowhere important" hurt him. Was she regretting sleeping with him? She'd seemed so happy, but then she went and dismissed being with him, almost as if she felt it was spur of the moment. So he did what he did best when he felt wounded. "What? Are you ashamed we slept together?" he snapped.

Looking shocked, JJ said, "No! Why would you ask something like that?" She couldn't believe how quickly the dynamic had just changed between them.

"If you just see me as 'nowhere important' and you the guy you met a week ago –"

"That's not what I meant!" JJ protested. "I just didn't think of anything else to say and I said that. It doesn't mean anything."

Scowling, he said, "I have to go to the hospital. See you later, JJ." Without another word, he stormed down the hall and down the stairs. He made his way into the kitchen and found Meredith Grey making coffee and a bagel.

"Good morning, Alex," she said. "You want some coffee?"

Grabbing a protein bar, he grumbled, "No."

Meredith scrutinized him with her eyes. "Do you want to talk about something? Like maybe the girl you've been thinking about all week?"

"No," he muttered, taking his breakfast and headed out to his car to go to work.

XXXXX

_Callie Torres' Apartment_

Emily slid out from Callie's embrace and made her way to the bathroom. She felt guilty for still being with her and not with her team at the hospital, but she couldn't help it. Callie was like a drug in her system that she couldn't seem to detox from. When she returned to the bedroom, Callie's eyes were fluttering open. She smiled lazily and sat up, pushing back some of her rumpled black hair from her face.

"Hey," she said sleepily. "Everything okay?"

Emily nodded. "Perfect," she said. Leaning over Callie, she picked up her phone, realizing that she'd neglected it for the past twenty-four hours. Kissing her lover on the cheek, she scrolled through the messages. Her eyes bulged and she cursed.

_21 Missed Calls_

"What the hell?" she said, looking through to see who'd called her so many times. Most were from Hotch, some were from Reid.

Leaning towards her, Callie placed a kiss on her shoulder and asked gently, "Is something wrong?"

Confused, Emily stared at her phone. "I don't know. My unit chief has been calling me."

"Do you think it might be another case?" Callie asked with disappointment. She looked longingly at Emily for the answer with a slight amount of fear in her look. She didn't want to lose a budding romance so soon after she'd lost Arizona. She could easily see herself falling in love with Emily if time permitted.

Turning to her, Emily shook her head and smiled in an attempt to comfort her. "No, no," she said hastily. "Our section chief gave us two weeks leave. But maybe Derek woke up." She called Hotch and pulled Callie in for another soft kiss. She was extremely nervous that something might have happened to Derek and she felt with Callie by her side she might have some support. The ringing ended with Hotch answering in a clipped tone.

"Where have you been, Prentiss?" he asked, his usually patient tone not present. "We've been trying to get a hold of you for ages. JJ too. You both just disappeared! I heard from JJ early this morning. She's back now. Where are you?"

"What's wrong?" Emily demanded, ignoring his scolding tone. "Is Derek okay?"

"Derek's awake," he said, his tone lightening some. "But the reason we called you so many times is because Penelope went into labor yesterday morning. She delivered a completely healthy baby girl. Her name is Lizzie."

Smacking herself in the forehead, Emily groaned. "Was someone there with her in there?"

"Rossi was there, coaching her and what not," he replied, a hint of laugh mixed in.

She had to choke on a laugh at the thought of David Rossi helping Penelope through labor. "Alright," she said. "I have to shower and get dressed. I'll be there soon."

"Tell Dr. Torres 'hi' for me," he snickered.

Without responding to him, Emily hung up on Hotch and sighed. "Penelope gave birth to a healthy baby girl. They named her Lizzie." She smiled at Callie and added, "Oh! And Derek woke up! God, I can't believe I wasn't answering my phone."

Callie laughed. "Do you want to get dressed and go now?" she asked, placing her hand in Emily's. "I can be ready in ten minutes."

Grinning, Emily said, "Sounds good. Where's the shower?" She placed a soft kiss on Callie's lips and watched as she got up from the bed.

As Callie was getting the shower started, Emily went to start coffee before joining her. She'd thrown on her jeans and an undershirt to walk through the apartment and she was thankful she had when she heard a knock on the door. Hitting the 'brew' button on the coffee pot, she went to the door, unlocked it, and opened it to find a stunningly beautiful blonde woman with a perky smile on her face. It immediately dropped when she saw Emily.

"Hello," Emily said, trying to be friendly, but was uncomfortable as she wasn't wearing a bra. "Can I help you?"

"Who are you?" the blonde woman asked shakily.

"Emily?" Callie's voice called sexily. She came out of the bathroom, dripping wet and in nothing but a towel. "Are you coming? Because shower sex is –" She stopped short when she saw the woman standing in the doorway.

Smiling softly, the blonde said, "Hello, Calliope."

"What are you doing here?" Callie demanded coldly. Her eyes narrowed to slits and she glared at the woman in the doorway.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Emily raised up a hand to interrupt, even though she had a pretty good idea of who this was. "Um, who is this?"

"I'm Arizona Robbins," the woman snapped. "And I'm wondering who _you_ are."

XXXXX

_Derek Morgan's Hospital Room_

Derek grumbled and laid his head back against the pillows, his frustration building with each passing moment. Twice already he'd tried to escape from his room to find Penelope, and twice he'd been caught and sent back to his bed.

"Mr. Morgan, if you don't stop trying to leave, I'm going to chain you to the bed," one of his nurses said with a scowl. "You'll be able to see your wife soon. And then she'll be coming to you, because you can't be moved yet."

"Watch me!" he snarled.

By now he'd just decided to wait for Penelope. Dr. Grey had come and told him that she was doing fine and his newborn daughter was perfectly healthy, though she was about a month early. Penelope and he discussed names privately by themselves and decided on Elizabeth a few weeks before he'd left for Seattle.

"_But I think we should call her 'Lizzie'," he pleaded while they were still lying under the sheets in the early morning before work. "I like Lizzie."_

_Laughing, Penelope pulled his face towards his and kissed him hungrily. "I'm okay with Lizzie." Looking under the sheets at her belly, she cooed, "Is Lizzie okay with you, little girl?"_

_Derek put both his hands on her stomach and felt as their baby kicked against her mother's belly. "I think she approves," he said with a grin, pulling Penelope on top of him and letting her kiss up his neck._

"I hear you've made several escape attempts this morning," Rossi said with a smirk on his face as he limped into the room. "You've become very popular with the nurses who've affectionately named you 'Runaway Daddy.'"

Derek scowled and cursed. "I just want to get up and see Penelope," he lamented. "And Lizzie. Dr. Grey told me she was born healthy. Oh, and that you coached my wife through labor." He grinned cheekily at him.

Rossi laughed. "Yeah, that was an experience," he chortled. "I don't think I've ever heard a woman curse so many times in several strung together sentences." He glanced out the door and grinned.

"What?" Derek asked. "What are you grinning about now?"

Standing up, Rossi said, "Your surprise is here."

"Huh?" Derek asked, confused. But when he saw Hotch pushing Penelope into the room in a wheelchair with a little pink bundle in her arms, a huge smile gracing her face, he immediately brightened and tried to sit up straight. "Hey Baby Girl!" he said. "Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you right now!"

Hotch smiled softly and wheeled the chair up next to the left side of Derek's bed. Penelope rose from the chair and sat on the edge of his bed, kissing him softly. "Hot Stuff, you haven't had to watch me sleep for a week straight."

As soon as his eyes fell on his daughter, Derek smiled widely and said, "She's so beautiful, Penelope." He looked up into her eyes and whispered, "Just like her momma." Neither of them noticed as Hotch and Rossi left the room. Holding out his arms, Penelope placed Lizzie in his arms and watched as father met daughter for the first time.

It was beautiful, watching her husband hold Lizzie for the first time. Her eyes watered as Derek stroked Lizzie's cheek with the tip of his index finger. Placing a kiss on his bandaged head, Penelope leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "I love you, Derek," she whispered softly, a few tears falling from her cheeks. Derek was awake and they had their daughter with them. There was nothing else she needed in the world.

Looking from his daughter to his wife, Derek murmured, "I love you too, Penelope. You and Lizzie. You're all I need."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own either of these.**

**Here's the next chapter! Thank you for all the reviews :) I appreciate them!**

_Seattle Grace Hospital_

JJ returned to the hospital, feeling completely stunned. It wasn't making any sense why Alex had blown up at her. Thinking about it, she realized how it may have hurt him, but she'd explained it to him in a way she thought would be sufficient. Instead, he'd stormed out. Tears burned in the back of her eyes as the cab pulled up to Seattle Grace. As she paid the driver and walked into the building, she made her way in even though visiting hours didn't start for another hour. She figured she would be able to slip into the maternity ward undetected to find Penelope. On her way, she ran into Lexie, dressed in regular clothes. Her face brightened and JJ had to force a smile at her to keep up appearances.

"Hi JJ!" she yawned. "Are you looking –"

"For Penelope," she said shortly. "Please know visiting hours aren't for another hour, but I really do need to see her."

Lexie looked at her curiously and then looked like she understood it had something to do with Alex. Apparently JJ wasn't hiding her emotions as well as she would've liked. Nodding, she said, "Penelope is in room 311. Actually, I saw her awake. She's nursing Elizabeth."

JJ looked at her gratefully and made her way towards the maternity ward. When she reached room 311, she was glad to see Penelope awake. She watched as her friend looked at her daughter with all the love and the world and it reminded her of the love she felt for her own child. Knocking softly, she watched as Penelope looked up at her and smiled widely.

"There you are!" Penelope said softly. JJ walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to the bed, smiling at Elizabeth in Penelope's arms. Her little eyes were closed and she had fallen asleep again.

"Here I am," she said. Putting her hand on Penelope's shoulder, JJ added, "Pen, I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I should've answered the phone. I should've been here."

Shaking her head, Penelope said, "No, Jayje. It's okay. Rossi worked his magic." She gave her a sweet smile, but it grew concerned when she saw that JJ's eyes looked sad behind the smile she was faking. "Hey? What's wrong?"

JJ shook her head and said, "I'm just so happy for you. Look at you, Derek's awake and you've got your baby girl here." She smiled with earnest this time. She really was happy for her friend. Even Alex couldn't take that from her. "Henry's going to be thrilled."

Looking at her skeptically, but not pushing the subject, Penelope smiled again and looked down at her daughter. "Yeah, he gets to be a big brother essentially." She stroked some of Elizabeth's curly hair on the top of her head and sighed. "I'm extremely happy right now. I can't wait to get home."

"Me either," JJ murmured.

XXXXX

As he was changing into his scrubs, Alex heard someone coming into the locker room with him and slam the door.

"What did you do to her?" Lexie demanded harshly.

When he turned around, her hands were on her hips and he raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, pretending like he didn't know she'd run into JJ. It was likely she'd returned to the hospital to see Penelope and of course Lexie ran into her while she was on her way home.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about," she spat at him. "I saw JJ coming back into the hospital. She was trying to play it off, but I could tell that you did something to her."

Alex glared at her. "You know what, Little Grey, you don't know anything," he snapped. "She's the one who told her boss she was nowhere important, blowing me off like I'm nothing to her."

"Alex, are you being serious?" she exclaimed. "Why would she tell her boss that she was off with one of her friend's doctors? That's just ridiculous."

He shook his head. "Don't feed me the same line she fed me," he said. "Let's face it. She was looking to get off because her husband left her."

Lexie glared at him. "That girl was not just looking to get off, as you so ridiculously put it," she said. "But what's most important here is your stupid hypocritical thinking! You have done so much worse to people in the past. What's completely different about this is she's done nothing wrong whereas you were fully in the wrong back in those days." She sighed. "I get that you've changed, but right now you're acting like an idiot. Both of you are trying to heal from something. And from the looks of it, you just made things worse for the both of you."

XXXXX

_Callie Torres' Apartment_

Emily's eyes grew wide and her mouth formed an "o" at the revelation that came from Arizona's mouth. She looked between Callie and her and noticed a steely glare. "So," Arizona said coolly to Emily. "Who are you? And what are you doing with my girlfriend?"

Her eyebrow rose and she listened as Callie, still in her towel, snapped, "You're not my girlfriend! You _left_ Arizona. You left me and went God knows where."

Arizona's face softened. "I know," she murmured. "And I'm so sorry. It was a mistake. I'm not happy without you. So I came back." She turned to Emily and glared at her. "Can you leave? We need to talk and you can't be here for it."

Raising her hands up, Emily relented and said, "I'll just get my clothes."

Grabbing her forearm, Callie shook her head. "You don't have to go," she said quietly. "_She_ does." There was a look of desperation on her face as she looked at Emily.

Emily tried to tell her with her eyes she would see her later. "It's okay," she said, hoping Callie would get the message. "I'll just go and see Penelope and Derek and the baby."

Arizona looked smug as Emily went to collect her clothes and disappeared from Callie's apartment.

XXXXX

"So, I've been gone for three months and you've already gotten together with someone else?" Arizona demanded when Callie returned in clothing. She put her hands on her hips and glared at her. "Really Calliope?"

"You left, Arizona," Callie spat. "I told you I wanted kids with you and you took off. I wanted a life with you and you threw it away because you're scared." She watched her ex-girlfriend carefully as she spoke. "You had not right to throw Emily out. You have no rights to me."

"What about forgiveness?" Arizona begged. "I made a mistake, Callie. While I was away, I realized I'm empty without you. I wish I could take everything back. I'm not saying I'm ready to have children, but I am willing to talk about it."

Callie's eyes narrowed to slits and. She was eyeing Arizona warily. It was true she had missed her terribly when she'd first left, but in the past week, meeting Emily had made her feel happy again. It was wonderful to feel warm and comforted again. And while Arizona was the person who once brought her joy, she didn't want a future with her anymore; she wanted Emily. As Arizona stood before her, Callie shook her head.

"I bet you do and I pity you and your choice," she said. "But I want you out of my life now. You weren't willing to even _discuss_ kids, you just ran. So no. I won't take you back." Nodding with sincerity, she added, "So, you're going to leave. And I'm going to go to work and see Emily."

XXXXX

Penelope was finally able to leave the maternity ward and get into her normal clothes. At the moment she was with the rest of the team in Derek's room, Emily holding Elizabeth and cooing at her. She smiled at her family and sat down next to Derek on the bed, her head on his shoulder as she savored the perfection of the moment.

"She's going to look just like you, PG," Emily said. "I can already tell."

As Penelope was about to respond, a knock sounded from the door and Callie was coming into the room in her scrubs. Penelope noted that Emily shared an uneasy look with the orthopedic surgeon and frowned for a moment. Was something going on between the two of them?

Callie smiled at them all and said, "Well it looks like you guys are all together again," she said. "I'm just here to check on Agent Morgan's leg. It's a pretty nasty. While your femur is still intact, the rest of your bones are broken. So we're going to have to discuss treatment and how long you'll be out of commission." She turned to the rest of them, specifically avoiding Emily's gaze and said, "Would the rest of you mind letting me have a few words with Derek and Penelope?"

Hotch nodded and said, "Yes. Of course." Motioning to the door, he added to the team, "Everyone. Let's get going." Looking at Penelope, he said, "Garcia, do you want us to take Lizzie or do you want to have her in here."

Grinning, Penelope said, "You guys take her and have some fun. She needs to get acquainted with the rest of her family." Even though she was letting the team –whom she trusted entirely –she felt a pang in her chest at the thought of her daughter leaving the room. It was simply because her maternal instincts were kicking into overdrive.

When the team was out of the room, Callie pulled up a chair and said, "Alright, we're going to have a nice long chat here."

"We're up for anything," Penelope said confidently.

Crossing her legs, Callie continued. "Because of the break in your leg being so severe, you're going to have to have a wheel chair for at least a few months."

"A few months!" Derek exploded. He sat up straighter and was going to say more when Penelope smacked his arm.

"Knock it off and let her talk, Hot Stuff," she scolded. Nodding to Callie, she urged her to keep talking. "Sorry Dr. Torres. I'll keep him shut up."

Callie smiled softly and kept going. "You're going to be out of the filed for a long time, Agent," she said solemnly. "But there's simply nothing we can do until you heal. You've got a lot of physical therapy ahead of you is all I can say regarding that. I see no reason why you won't be able to work from your headquarters. But until your leg is fully functional, you're going to be stuck with a nine-to-five job."

Penelope sighed as Derek's face hardened and he opened his mouth to say all forms of obscenities. He wasn't taking this news well at all and from the look on Callie's face she knew she was thinking the exact same thing. Putting her hand on his arm, Penelope kissed his forehead and said, "Derek, baby, you need to calm down. It's not the end of the world."

"It is for me," he snapped. "Penelope, if I can't do my job, what the hell am I going to do?"

"You're going to take care of your daughter," Penelope returned just as harshly. She knew Derek was upset, but he had Lizzie to think of. For a while at least, he would be able to stay home with her while she had to work.

Looking shocked for a moment, Derek then apologized. "I'm sorry, Penelope," he said softly. "I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's okay," she returned. "I know this is upsetting." Looking at Callie again, she said, "Will he be able to travel to Quantico? Our team does have a jet, so we won't be going through airports."

Callie nodded. "I see no reason why not," she said. "In fact, Dr. Sheppard said if you want, you can leave tomorrow. Your vitals are good, so you will be able to at least travel and if there are any problems whatsoever you can go to your hospital in DC."

At this, Penelope smiled sincerely. She would be glad when she went home. When Derek and her went home.

"We'll let the team know and head home," Derek said, pulling Penelope close to him.

Callie stood up and nodded. "I'll tell them to come in," she said. Her eyes said she was slightly sad at their decision to leave immediately and Penelope thought it might have something to do with Emily. She was curious as to what was going on between them, but wasn't going to press the issue yet.

When Callie had disappeared, Derek pulled Penelope's face down to his and kissed her passionately. "Baby Girl, I'm sorry I didn't think about taking care of Lizzie," he said softly, stroking some of her hair back. "I just –"

Penelope silenced him with another kiss. "Stop talking you silly hunk of chocolate," she whispered, dotting his neck with kisses. "I know. It's hard for you to think of yourself as a father right now because it's so new and it's hard for you not to do your job. But know that you'll always be the love of my life…no matter how many times you start cussing about not being able to work."

Derek just grinned and pulled his wife in closer to him. They were still wrapped in each other's arms when the team came in and when Penelope saw her daughter, she jumped off the bed to take her from JJ's arms. "Hey, Lizzie," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "We're going home."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…I just play around with them :)**

**Whew! Sorry about the delay on getting this out. I've been super busy with school and I've been sick the last few days. Oh, and reading **_**Crime and Punishment**_**. I don't know what crime I committed to be given such a punishment as reading this dreadful book, but all I can say is I miss the romance and intrigue of **_**Anna Karenina**_**. At least when it comes to Russian novels. Not fun at all, but here it is!**

JJ had her bags all packed and she was meeting Penelope at the hospital to help with Elizabeth while they got Derek ready to travel back to Quantico. She went to Derek's room, walking through the halls of the place she'd spent so much time in for near the past two weeks. The whole place could've felt like home now. On her way to the elevators she caught sight of Lexie and her sister Dr. Meredith Grey getting coffee and smiled as Mark Sloan approached the two of them. She watched as Reid was striking up a conversation with Dr. Miranda Bailey, probably about some crazy study that had been published and he'd read about on a whim. But then she saw Alex. And he was talking to a nurse.

Moring kissing than talking.

And at that her heart constricted tightly in her chest and she had to force back tears.

Unsuccessful at keeping the tears at bay, she hurried into the elevator and pushed the button to Derek's floor, composing herself so she could help her friends get moving. Their flight was taking off at noon and they only had a few hours until then. Then they would be going back east. Back home.

XXXXX

"Damn wheelchair," Derek grumbled as he slid into it with Callie and Penelope's help. "Fucking wheels keep sliding around on the fucking floor."

"Quit your whining, you giant ball of chocolate love," Penelope said with faux sternness. She dropped a kiss on her husband's head and squeezed his shoulder. "It's not the end of the world." Callie was finishing up some paperwork and glancing up at the Morgans, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk as Derek rolled his eyes while his chastising wife got their things ready.

JJ, who was holding Elizabeth, tried to hide a smile as Derek cursed and settled grumpily into his chair. "Your daddy is just having some trouble adjusting," she cooed to the baby in her arms. She stroked back some of Lizzie's black curly hair and added, "He's just a big baby, though. You're acting more grown up that he is at the moment." Elizabeth just stared at her and let her eyes drift around the room.

"I heard that JJ!" Derek said.

Penelope looked at JJ holding her daughter and said, "It's only a matter of time before you have another one for Henry to have as a brother or sister." Though JJ had gone to her the morning after Alex's cold dismissal of her, she still hadn't told her about the disaster that was her tryst with Dr. Karev. She figured her friend had enough on her plate with a newborn and a husband restricted unwillingly to a wheelchair.

Handing Elizabeth back to her mother, she shook her head solemnly. "No Pen," she whispered remembering Alex's lips on another's. It won't happen." She tried to avoid Penelope's confused and sympathetic glance.

"Alright, we're a go," Callie said, grinning as she pushed Derek out the door of the room.

"Baby Girl," Derek said, his voice seriously resembling a whine. "If I'm going to be stuck in this damn chair, can I at least hold Lizzie?"

Penelope smiled and handed their daughter to him. "Nothing in the world is going to keep you from holding your daughter, Hot Stuff."

"Damn right," he grumbled. His rough demeanor changed in a flash as soon as Elizabeth was in his arms. "Hey Lizzie," he said sweetly, something so uncharacteristic for his voice. "We're going home. And you're going to see your room and you're going to meet Clooney, and your grandma, who planned on coming out here but got caught up with work, is going to come see you, and I'm going to show you off to Auntie Desiree and make her jealous that she doesn't have an adorable baby girl like you. And then –"

Placing a kiss on his head, Penelope said, "Okay, Hot Stuff. I think she gets it. She's going to become the biggest Daddy's Girl in the entire world."

Grinning Derek said, "Hell yes she is! And just you wait, Momma…when she has siblings, they're all going to be spoiled just as much. Unless they do something stupid. Then we'll have to stick their overly cute butts in time out."

JJ smiled softly at her friends who were so caught up with each other that the rest of the world had disappeared for them. She could see that Callie was thinking the exact same thing and when their eyes met they shared a smile. JJ could tell that Callie seemed sad that they were leaving. When Emily and Hotch came around a corner and the doctor's eyes met Emily's, the light bulb went off in her head and she realized she wasn't the only one who had fallen for one of Seattle Grace's finest.

At this thought, she knew that as soon as they got home, she and Emily were going to go out on the town and drink their pain away. At least for one night.

XXXXX

When Alex had kissed one of the nurses that morning, he hadn't felt right at all. The feel of her lips didn't quite sit well with him and he knew it was because he was still stuck on JJ. Lexie's lecture had gotten to him and he knew he'd broken his own heart and JJ's. And nothing in the world felt worse.

But what did feel worse was the sight of Agents Hotchner and Prentiss following behind the Morgan family as the exited the main doors. A little ways behind them he saw JJ, looking around the hospital one last time before she went out the doors with her team and disappeared from his life for good.

Their eyes hadn't even met before and he felt a whole get stomped in his heart before he made his way to see if he could get into a surgery to distract himself.

XXXXX

As Callie helped Morgan into the SUV, Emily couldn't help but watch her. She had been extremely kind to both Penelope and Derek and even had kissed little Elizabeth on the forehead before they got into the car. Emily had no idea of how Callie's conversation with Arizona Robbins had gone, but they hadn't spoken since and it was leaving an aching feeling all over her body. And it wasn't a pleasant ache like the one she'd had after making love to Callie for hours on end.

"Thank you for everything," Hotch said, shaking Callie's hand. "We appreciate it. And I know as soon as Derek gets over the fact that he can't walk for several months, he will too."

"Eh, I don't take it personally," Callie laughed. "I got the impression that he was one of those guys who can't handle that sort of news pretty well. And Penelope set him straight pretty quick. My guess is taking care of their baby will be his favorite job of all."

Rossi smiled and shook her hand as well. "You're one hell of a woman, Dr. Torres," he said. "If I'm ever in Seattle again, I'll have to give you a call." He smiled suggestively and Emily rolled her eyes. Ever the Italian Stallion.

"Sorry Agent Rossi," Callie said. "I don't play for your team."

He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Ah, that's too bad. Whoever gets your heart is a very lucky woman indeed."

At that Callie's eyes shot to Emily and held her gaze. Emily didn't know if she truly held her heart, but what she did know was for the time she'd had with her she'd felt extremely lucky. As the rest of the team got into their respective SUVs, Emily stayed behind with Callie and said, "Goodbye…Callie Torres."

As she was about to get into the car, Callie grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, kissing her hungrily one last time before reluctantly pulling her lips away. Resting her forehead against Emily's, she murmured, "Goodbye…Emily Prentiss." Neither of them cared that they were well in view of her team members. They just stood there for a few moments before Emily stroked her cheek and got into the waiting SUV which pulled away as soon as her door shut.

XXXXX

Callie was standing on the upper level of the hospital, her arms resting on the railing and she was looking out across the building. Next to her was Alex and they both were staring blankly into space. "I take it things didn't go the way you wanted them to go either?" she asked bluntly. The feeling in her heart that she would never see Emily again was weighing down on her like a ton of bricks and she didn't think anything but mass amounts of alcohol would make her feel better.

"Not at all," Alex responded angrily. "Not one fucking way at all."

Nodding absentmindedly, Callie said, "Yeah, me either."

XXXXX

"So Prentiss and Dr. Torres, huh?" Derek said, slightly confused. "I never would've pegged Em as gay."

Stroking the back of his head, Penelope leaned her head against his broad shoulder and said, "I kind of had a feeling things might end this way for her. The two of them had been dancing around each other the whole time. I just feel so sorry for both of them." She wasn't going to mention JJ and Alex, seeing as JJ was driving the SUV. But she had every intention of spilling the details to Derek as soon as they were back home. Just because they were married now, didn't stop them from being best friends. It had only strengthened their bond.

From her car seat, Elizabeth let out a small sigh and Penelope turned her attention to her daughter, kissing the top of her hair-covered head. "You ready to get home, baby?" she asked in a cooing voice.

Taking Penelope's hand, Derek smiled. "Of course she is," he said proudly. "She already is being just like her momma. Ready to be home at any minute."

Grinning, Penelope said, "Not necessarily, Chocolate Goodness. If you recall, I wasn't ready at all to leave our little French paradise on the Mediterranean. All those lazy, naked days we had…"

"Okay, la la la la!" JJ sang from the driver's seat. "TMI, PG. I love you both, but not enough to hear the dirty details of your sex life together!"

Derek didn't say anything, but he did meet his wife's eyes and lick his lips. Of course he remembered their honeymoon days. There were some days that they didn't even leave their bed. Hell, there had been some days they hadn't put on any clothing whatsoever.

He knew what they would be doing as soon as they got home.

When they had reached the airport, Penelope helped Derek out and into his wheelchair before unbuckling Lizzie and putting her in his arms. She pushed the chair towards the ramp and helped Derek adjust himself on the couch. As soon as he was, Elizabeth began to cry out, hungry again. "Looks like our little girl is hungry, Mama," Derek said with a smile. He kissed the top of her head and handed her off to Penelope who took her eagerly, sitting down next to Derek.

The rest of the team boarded the plane, all of them with different expressions on their faces. Hotch and Rossi were simply tired-looking with Hotch looking glad to be going home; he'd been without Jack for nearly three weeks. Reid had already buried his nose in some enormous technical book, ignoring the surroundings on the plane. But what concerned Penelope the most was the look on both JJ and Emily's faces. They both looked like they'd had their hearts torn out. Sighing, she laid her head against Derek's shoulder and held her daughter to her chest, wondering if life would go back to normal when they all returned to Quantico.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy or Criminal Minds**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Here's the next chapter. Nothing really from JJ and Emily this chapter, but Callie and Alex get a kick in the pants from Lexie and Penelope and Derek enjoy their life back home with Elizabeth. If you haven't noticed, I really love Lexie :) Enjoy guys!**

_Quantico, VA – 1 Week Later_

"So, how's your hubby taking the wheelchair?" Emily asked Penelope as the two of them sat down for lunch in the Morgans' kitchen. It was Saturday and their first week back in Quantico. Thankfully no cases had been given to them and they'd spent the whole time doing massive amounts of paperwork. "Last time I called him he dropped the phone and I heard him shouting all forms of obscenities. It was rather amusing." She smirked and took a sip of her wine.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "He's acting like a bear with a sore head," she muttered. "I swear to God if he doesn't stop acting like that I'm not putting out for a month."

Emily smirked. "Exactly how does that work out?" Penelope raised an eyebrow in question and she added, "You know, sex? With his leg being broken, how the hell –"

All Penelope did was laugh. "Oh, Em honey," she giggled. "We've found all _sorts_ of creative ways to have sex with his leg being like that." She looked out the window and smiled when she saw JJ's car pulling into her driveway. Her smile spread to a grin when she saw her godson bounding along into the house. "Ooh! Look who's here!"

"Auntie P! Auntie Emily!" he whispered happily. He ran to throw his arms around Penelope first and then moved to Emily.

Both women smiled widely. "Hey, Henry!" Penelope said kissing the top of his blonde head. She smiled up at JJ as she closed the door behind her. Looking back at her godson, she whispered back, "Why are you whispering?"

"Mom told me I had to be quiet because Lizzie might be sleeping," he said, putting his finger to his lips. As if on cue, Elizabeth's crying broke out and Penelope planted a kiss on Henry's forehead. He looked at her hesitantly, like he was worried she might be mad at him. "No worries, little man. Not you. She's just hungry." She rose from her chair and went up the stairs to Elizabeth's nursery. When she got there Derek was already at the crib looking rather frustrated.

"Hot Stuff, is everything okay?" she asked in concern.

"Brilliant Penelope!" he huffed. "My daughter is crying and I can't even stand to pick her up." He tried to rise from his wheelchair, but ended up tripping and falling down again on his butt. Cursing softly in pain, he looked up at Penelope and said, "I'm sorry, Baby. I'm just…I'm just really upset. I have to use a chair lift to get up and down our stairs; I can't stand up to pick our daughter out of her crib…"

Penelope picked Elizabeth out of her crib and kissed her forehead, before putting her in Derek's arms. "All you have to do is ask for help, Derek," she said softly, planting a kiss on his head. "You know I'll do anything for you."

Looking up at his wife, he nodded. "I know, Baby Girl," he murmured, running his index finger down her cheek. Elizabeth began to squirm and fuss, so he handed her up to Penelope so she could start feeding her. "Are Prentiss and JJ downstairs?" he asked, his voice calmer now.

"Mhmm," she said. "Henry too."

Holding his hand out for her to take, he said, "As soon as you're done feeding this little monkey, let's go join them."

XXXXX

"Lizzie's finally asleep," Penelope said around ten o'clock. She went to the dresser and pulled out a silk nightie before stripping to nothing and sliding it on.

"Woman, you should know better than to put that on," Derek drawled as she slid under the covers next to him. "You look so good when you're naked." He trailed a hand down her thigh and she closed her eyes to sigh with pleasure. His hands began to travel up her waist and across her stomach, making her heart flutter wildly. She laughed and kissed his neck, trailing her hot lips up his throat. Moving to straddle his waist, she made sure to be careful with his broken leg and used her fingernails to trace the lines of his rock hard abdomen.

"What are you going to do, Handsome?" she asked huskily, leaning down to his ear. "Make a poor lady suffer in this _restrictive_ piece of silk?"

He laughed and pulled the nightie up and over her head, revealing the breasts he'd fallen in love with the moment after he'd fallen in love with her. As they made love together, Penelope let Derek whisper the contents of his soul to her and she felt more alive than ever before.

"Is it just me or does this get better every time?" he panted after Penelope collapsed at his side, both of them sweaty and satisfied.

"Who knew breaking your leg would lead to such fantastic sex?" she said flippantly, nuzzling his neck and planting a sensual and tender kiss on his lips. "If I break the other one do I get to give you a sponge bath?"

He laughed and pulled her closer to his side. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured, "Baby Girl, you can sponge me down anytime you want."

Rolling onto her stomach, she put her chin on Derek's chest and said, "I hope Jayje and Em are going to be okay. They both seem different."

Derek stroked some of her hair back and murmured, "They'll be okay. They're strong."

"I just really thought that Alex was going to be good for JJ," she sighed. "There looked like there could've been something there. Something to help her get over Will. After what he did to her, I didn't think she would ever find someone who she would connect with again. What that bastard did to her, I just wanted to find one of your Glocks and –"

Pulling her lips to his, Derek silenced her with a kiss. "I love that you're so loyal to JJ, but wasting your time on hating Will LaMontagne going to drive you crazy. He's a bastard, but he's not worth the time of day. For you and especially JJ to worry about." He cocked an eyebrow at her and asked, "What _did_ happen between her and Dr. Karev? I was asleep for most of our time in Seattle Grace."

Penelope sighed once again. "I don't know the details, but I do know that he was crazy about her and that she fought him every step of the way." Sliding on top of him again, she laid her head against his chest and let him hold her tightly. "Promise me you won't ever let me get away from you…no matter how hard I fight you. Let me know you'll always keep me grounded." She brought her head up to look him in the eye and grasped his face.

Kissing his wife and caressing her cheek gently, he wrapped his arms around her back. "I love you, Mrs. Penelope Morgan. I'll always love you and I'm never going to let you get away from me."

And she fell asleep on top of him, wrapped in his loving arms that would never let her go, no matter what happened or broken legs that threatened to keep him off his feet for months.

XXXXX

_Seattle Washington, Joe's Bar_

Alex and Callie sat in a booth, both of them downing their fifth shots for the evening. They were both relatively hammered and had been at least two nights in the week that had passed since the BAU's departure.

"You know," Callie slurred. "That damn baby was the cutest baby I've ever seen. And her parents, they were so fucking in love that it was inspiring to the whole wide world." She held up her drink to clink glasses with Alex. "I've never seen two people so in love with each other that could survive every test of time thrown their way. And to think I might've had that with Emily was stupid on my part. It would never have happened. I should've known that love was never going to last for me. Not after fucking Arizona left me. She ruined me!"

Alex swung his finger around in the air and garbled back, "And Izzie ruined me. JJ felt like she might…I don't know…rejuvenate me? I could totally fall in love with her. Fall absolutely fucking head over heels in love with that girl. I don't care she has a kid; I would gladly become a father with her. I'd punch the hell out of the bastard that broke her heart. It would make me feel better and I hope it would make her feel better. I wouldn't do it if it made her upset, but it would feel really, _really_ good."

As they were slurring incoherently to each other, Lexie came up to their table and slammed her fists down on the table. Callie and Alex looked up at her with surprise. "You two! You're a disgrace! You let two women who could make you eternally happy slip away and left all four of you with broken hearts! So you know what you have to do?"

"Drown ourselves in more drinks?" Alex said with a ridiculous smirk on his face.

Lexie rolled her eyes. "No goddammit! You need to go after them. Immediately. So go find those two and be happy. Find Penelope and have her help you. And give that adorable daughter of her's a kiss for me."

When she left them to join Mark Sloan, Callie and Alex looked at each other and nodded. "She's totally right. We need to find them," Callie said, putting her shot glass down roughly.

Alex nodded and rose. "Let's do it."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_Seattle-Tacoma International_

Both Callie and Alex were sitting in the Seattle-Tacoma International airport at their gate, Lexie and Mark by their sides to make sure they didn't chicken out and "miss" their flight. They were also the only ones who could give them a ride. Callie sat next to Mark and was listening to him lecture her on what to do.

"Torres, you have to handle this the right way," he said, sounding exactly like Dr. Webber when he was giving a presentation for incoming interns. "Make sure you tell her _exactly_ how you feel. But do it with confidence. You have to make it clear to her how you feel. You're not a fuck-up like Karev there, so it'll be easier for you."

Alex just scowled at him and went back to sulking. He had not idea what the hell he was going to say to JJ when they made it to Quantico. The farthest he'd gotten in his mental speechwriting was _I'm sorry._

Lexie slapped Mark's arm. "Mark, leave him alone," she scolded. He's going to do fine." She turned to Alex and gave a swift nod of her head. "You're going to be fine…right?"

Rolling his eyes, Alex finished the last of his coffee and said, "Yeah. Sure."

Before Lexie could give him more words of encouragement or Mark could throw in a sarcastic comment of his own again, the intercom rang out. "Flight C209 from Seattle to Washington DC is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate with your boarding passes ready."

All four of them rose from their seats and stared at each other for a moment. "Well," Lexie began, smiling brightly. "Go find them you two! Make things right." She pulled Callie into a hug first and then moved on to a very stiff Alex. "You'll do fine," she told him, pushing his shoulder gently. "Just don't do anything stupid."

Mark scoffed. "Yeah. Again." Ignoring Alex altogether after that, he pulled Callie into a hug and said, "Don't be nervous. You deserve to be happy and if happy for you is with an FBI agent all the way the hell across the country, then go find her and tell her that."

Callie nodded and shouldered her bag, getting her ticket and boarding pass ready to go. "You got it, Sloan," she murmured. Giving him one last weak smile, she nodded to Alex and said, "You ready to go, Karev?"

Alex just followed her through the gate, ready to board the plane that would deliver them to Emily and JJ's front doors.

XXXXX

_Quantico, VA – Quantico Bible Church_

Hotch had let JJ leave early so she could attend a concert Henry was in at Will and Cheryl's church. From there she planned on taking him home with her for the weekend. He was extremely excited to see Elizabeth again because he loved having a sister figure in his life. Their last trip to the Morgans' house had been filled with him begging Penelope to let him hold Lizzie. He asked if next time Jack come. JJ tried her hardest to have his friends over as much as possible because Cheryl insisted on integrating him into the groups of kids at her church. Somehow though Jack, and now Lizzie, always came first.

Much to Cheryl's displeasure.

She got out of her car at Cheryl's crazy Baptist church, her mind wandering as she went inside. Across the atrium she saw the bottle blonde, whose nose Penelope had given a second name, Will had left you for chatting animatedly with her Bible study group. She wore a tacky pink pantsuit and a gaudy rhinestone encrusted cross. The frightening image made JJ look down at her own black dress pants and purple blouse and thank Emily and Penelope for being her shopping companions and critics.

Cheryl's eyes fell on JJ and her face crinkled unpleasantly, like she was looking at a Devil worshipper. "Well, well," she crowed in her nasally tone. "Look who decided to make an appearance." She looked JJ up and down distastefully and JJ returned the stare with equal disdain.

"I've been back for two weeks, Cheryl," she said, forcing a smile even though she was certain it was dying on her face. "Henry was with me all last week, in case you forgot."

"Well, did you take him to Mass on Sunday?"

"No," JJ answered simply.

Cheryl smirked. "Well how about Saturday then? Did you take him to Church on Saturday?"

JJ shook her head again. "No, we were at Derek and Penelope's visiting their new daughter, Elizabeth."

Snickering, she said, "Oh, yes! That's the… interracial baby, isn't it? I can only _imagine_ what school will be like when _she's_ older. Do you really want Henry having to be friends with someone who will be targeted by others?"

"You mean by people like you?" JJ spat, her hands clenched into fists. She was about ready to stomp on the haughty bitch's foot. The air between them was tense and all Cheryl's friends dispersed and floated away, not wanting to be in the crossfire of the battle going on. "It's the twenty-first century, _Cheryl_. No one's going to target Elizabeth and if they do, I except Henry to stand up for what's right. But let's get one thing extremely clear: insult me all you want, but don't you ever, _ever_ try and insult my friends. And if I have to, I'll make sure you _never_ see my son because I will not have him be subjected to your bat-shit crazy racism!" Cheryl's face contorted in anger and JJ walked past her. Over her shoulder, she tossed out, "Nice seeing you again, Cheryl."

As she sat down and waited for Henry's concert to start, she made sure to check her phone and turn it on silent. There was a text from Penelope.

_Are you okay? Haven't heard from you in a couple of days…_

She sighed. She knew Penelope knew something was wrong with her and that it had to do with Alex, but her friend never brought him up. In the two weeks since they'd come back, she'd spent most moments when she wasn't with Henry moping. The fact that it had to do with a man she'd known for only a short period of time made her roll her eyes every time she thought about it. Instead of ignoring the text though, she sent back a message that she was fine and to invite them over the next day. She would have Henry with her so there was little danger of Penelope seeing the small tears in her exterior.

When the kids came out and JJ saw Henry, she smiled brightly and watched as he filed in with the rest of his fellow five year olds. He caught sight of her in the front row of the crowd and waved excitedly at her, his blonde hair radiant under the lights of the church. It warmed JJ's heart.

Even thoughts of Alex Karev and spats with Cheryl LaMontagne couldn't spoil her moments with her son.

_The Bullpen_

"You're still here?"

Emily looked up from her paperwork to see Rossi looking at her with a raised eyebrow and an intense stare. She noticed his crutches were missing and had been replaced with a sleek black wood cane with a silver handle. She ignored his question about her still being at the BAU and snickered. "What's with the cane?"

He grinned and held it horizontally in both hands for her to observe the cane he was clearly proud of. "It's great, right?" he said happily.

She shook her head and smirked. "Sure…if you're going for how I dressed in high school."

Sitting down next to her in Reid's usual chair, he said jokingly, "Don't be hatin' on a man's gear. But that's not what brings me to you." His face became serious in an instant. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," she lied. Truthfully she wasn't fine at all. She felt strange all the time, like there was a piece of her missing. Thought her field work hadn't been affected, she felt like her life was going by in slow motion. Like she was on a train and she saw people and time pass by but there was no way for her to exit the train and reenter life.

He fixed her with a stern glance and said, "Do I look like I'm stupid?"

She shook her head.

"Then you should know that _I_ know you're not fine. Not in the least bit." He paused to point a finger at her. "You may be functioning like an everyday human being, but I'm your friend, and I know there's something wrong with you. You're acting off. And I know it's not because Morgan is out of commission and you simply hate your new fellow agent."

Emily tried to not to curl her lip at that; she didn't like Agent Angela Ladd at all. She whined too much, she treated the rest of the team as inferiors except for Hotch, and she continuously tried to insert herself in the thick of the action. The entire team was in agreement that she wasn't the ideal match for them, but budgets were tight and Strauss couldn't find anyone else to fill the position.

She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine," she mumbled grudgingly. "I'm still feeling sad about…" For some reason her lips couldn't form her name.

"Callie Torres?"

She nodded and bowed her head slightly. "Yeah…"

Rossi took both her hands and looked at her with concern. "You know, I think you just need a little time. Have you considered taking a vacation? Maybe to some far away country where you can relax and eat mass amounts of pasta." He grinned as she rolled her eyes. Turning more serious all of the sudden, he added, "You don't want to have this affect your work in the field. A break may be just what you need."

Emily nodded, but didn't think she had the energy to schedule a trip, get herself to the airport, and get on a flight.

_Outside the Morgan Residence_

"Alright, this is the address the bills get sent to," Callie said, looking out the window of their rental car at the Edwardian-style house where Derek and Penelope Morgan lived. Both of them were hiding in the car, trying to gain the courage to ask where to find JJ and Emily. It was nine pm, but they could see a movie going on TV and both the Morgans curled up together on the couch, Derek's leg propped up in front of him. He was looking down at Penelope and laughed at something before kissing the top of her head.

They looked like the happiest people in the world.

Alex groaned. "I feel really bad about doing this to them," he grumbled. "They won't want to help us." He leaned back in his seat and blew out a sigh. "This was a bad idea. An expensive airfare idea."

Callie turned to him and mustered up her best face for lashing out at idiot residents in the OR. "Karev!" she exclaimed. "We are not going to give up on this mission! So get out of the car. We're going to march up there, knock on the door and ask where to find Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau." Though it was a short speech, she was breathing heavily and Alex eyes were wide with surprise

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Alex nodded swiftly before bursting out of the rental car and going up the walk to the Morgan home.

XXXXX

When a knock sounded from the door at nine pm, both Derek and Penelope looked up from the TV screen in confusion. "Who the hell is making a house call at this hour?" Derek growled, holding Penelope's waist tighter s she tried to rise from the couch. "Maybe if we ignore them they'll go away." He grinned cheekily at her and she kissed him softly before rising.

"Silly Hot Stuff!" she tutted, going to the door while swishing her hips as she sashayed out of the room. He laughed as she disappeared into the atrium.

"Who's coming here in the middle –" she exclaimed with fake exasperation as she opened the door. Her mouth fell open when she saw the man and woman standing on the porch. "Alex? Dr. Torres?"

Alex grinned and waved. "Hey Penelope. We wanted to ask you something…"

All Penelope did was throw her arms around both of them. Maybe they could bring Emily and JJ back from relationship depression.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy.**

**Hey guys! This chapter is just M/G and Callie and Alex. Thank you for reviews so far!**

_Morgan Residence_

"I'm so glad you're here!" she said, pulling back to look at them both. "You have no idea how great this is. And JJ and Emily! When they find out you're here, they'll be thrilled."

Alex bit his lip. "Listen, Penelope," he said softly. "JJ must not have told you what happened between us, so I don't know how happy she'll be to see me." He looked at her nervously.

Tilting her head to the side, she sighed. "No, she didn't tell me anything," she said. "But is it so irreparable that you can't fix it?" She pushed her glasses up farther on her face and looked at him expectantly for the answer. Her face made Callie smirk at Alex. Something told her that Penelope wasn't going to rest until she got an answer.

"Well, no," he said. "It's not irr –"

Clapping her hands together, she grinned and said, "Great! Then it's settled. You're okay to stay in town without me running you out of it." She blinked several times with her long lashes and she laughed as Alex gaped at her with fright. Callie was snickering behind him. Patting his arm, she began leading them through to the living room. "I'm just kidding, Alex," she added. "I wouldn't have run you out of town. Just changed your personal record."

"We're really sorry to be barging in on you, especially at this hour," Callie said sheepishly. "We – well, Lexie decided we should come here. I mean, obviously we wanted to come, but she's the one who gave us a kick in the ass to get coming here."

She smiled widely again. "It's not a problem," she said. "Derek!" Penelope cried, leading Alex and Callie by their hands into the living room where Derek was still watching _Top Gun_. He looked up and crinkled his brow in confusion. "Derek, look who showed up! It's –"

"My doctors from Seattle Grace?" he asked, flipping the TV off. "What are they doing here?" He observed them with caution, not quite sure of what to do with two doctors who'd come three thousand miles to see them. "If it's to make sure my leg is okay, I'm pretty sure the doctors here are qualified."

Moving Derek's newspapers from the chair that they had been occupying, she dropped them on his lap and motioned for Callie to sit there. Derek looked at the papers on his lap and tried to protest his wife's busy behavior, but she kept moving around the living room, making sure there was room for Alex to sit down as well. As soon as Callie and Alex were seated, Penelope was about to take her place next to Derek again when she smacked her forehead. She jumped to her feet again and cried, "How rude of me! Can I get you guys anything to drink? A glass of wine, beer, water?"

"I'll take you up on a beer," Alex said, raising a finger.

Callie was about to kick him in the shin, but Penelope said, "Okay! I'll get right on it. Callie? Wine, beer?" Callie sighed internally. Penelope, with her curly blonde hair, flouncy skirt, and bubblegum-colored glasses, looked so eager to please that it would break her heart to tell her no. So she smiled brightly and nodded. "Wine would be great, Penelope," she said, smiling as Penelope disappeared into the kitchen to get the drinks.

"Nice house you have here, Mr. Morgan," Alex said nervously, trying to ignore the feeling of the older man's eyes on him.

Derek's response was just a grunt as he kept his gaze fixed on both the doctors.

It was fairly clear that Callie and Alex were invading his time with his wife and he was not happy about it.

"Okay!" Penelope sang out, coming back into the living room with a glass of red wine and bottle of beer. "Wine," she said, handing the glass to Callie, "and beer." She gave Alex the bottle before finally settling down next to Derek again on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulders and she patted his knee briefly before turning to their guests again. "So did you guys have a plan of what you're going to do to talk to them?"

Callie and Alex exchanged a glance before Callie murmured, "We don't really have a plan. That's why we came here. We were wondering if you could help us."

"Us?" Derek asked a little too loudly.

"More specifically her," Alex said bluntly, nodding his head towards Penelope. "We hardly know you." Callie kicked him in the shin, not unbeknownst to the Morgans.

Derek's jaw tightened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Penelope covered it with her hand and said, "Of course I'll help you! And he will too. He's just going to bitch about it the entire time." She grinned more broadly. "Now, what's going –" As she spoke, Elizabeth began to cry from the upstairs and the hard look on Derek's face softened. He looked ready to get up from the couch and go upstairs, but then he remembered his leg and his look changed back to grumpy. Penelope glanced over at her husband tenderly. Rising from the couch again, she kissed the side of his head and said, "I'm going to go check on her." Deciding it would be best to leave Callie down stairs with Derek instead of Alex because he already looked like he wanted to throttle him, Penelope motioned for Alex to join her.

"You want to go see Lizzie?" she said brightly.

Remembering the look that had only moments ago been meant for him, Alex jumped to his feet and nodded with a grin. "I would love to see her," he said, following her out of the room, leaving Callie and Derek in the living room. "Lead the way."

XXXXX

"Wow! She's gotten huge in the last two weeks!" Alex said when Penelope picked her daughter up from the crib. She bounced her gently in her arms and cooed softly.

Smiling, Penelope said proudly, "She eats like crazy." She wiped her daughter's teary face and looked at Alex. "Do you want to hold her?"

He held up his hands to protest. "Oh, I don't know –" he laughed nervously.

"Here," Penelope said, holding Lizzie out for him to hold her. She wiggled in her mother's arms and Alex took the baby awkwardly. He knew exactly how to hold a baby, but it felt strange outside of a hospital. "So you're here for JJ," she stated, leaning against the crib, watching as Lizzie squirmed in his arms. As her daughter squirmed more, she smiled and helped Alex out by taking her again. The baby instantly calmed down in her mother's arms and Alex's body visibly relaxed.

Rubbing the top of his head, Alex nodded. "Yeah, I am," he said. "But I need to figure out the right way to do this. I can't seem to do anything right with women. I hope I can fix it."

"You know, JJ might not have told me what was wrong, but I don't think it's anything you cannot fix," she said kindly, sitting down in the rocking chair beside the crib. "What she needs is for you to find her and to talk to her."

He laughed. "We'll have to see." His face was set in a grim line and Penelope looked at him sadly. When she looked at him she felt like she was looking at JJ. They had the same facial expressions, the same look in their eyes. There was the similar clenching of her heart feeling she had when she looked at JJ, too.

Letting out a small sigh, she kissed the top of Elizabeth's head and told Alex, "You may see sooner than you think."

XXXXX

"So, you and Prentiss, huh?" Derek asked, tilting his beer up to his lips.

Callie gulped and nodded. She got the distinct feeling from the vibes coming off him that Derek Morgan got almost as protective of his team members as he did of his wife and daughter. _Almost_. "Yeah," she said.

"Where did you meet her?" he asked gruffly.

"In the ER when your ambulance arrived," she answered. "She told us your name."

Derek nodded and narrowed his eyes at her. "And you'll treat her well?" he demanded.

Sitting up straighter, she nodded confidently. "The best," she vowed.

Lowering his voice even more, he raised a brow and whispered, "And you promise that if you move here to live with her, marry her, and have all sorts of the little babies with her you'll take me on as a patient again?"

She tilted her head to the side and studied his face that was dead serious. Smiling as she understood, she nodded. "Yes," she said. "I'll take you on as a patient again."

He nodded and gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile before grinning when Penelope returned with their daughter in her arms. Callie couldn't help but smile; Derek Morgan had just given her his blessing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy.**

**Here's the next installment! I know a lot of you are excited to see Derek and Penelope help JJ and Callie find Emily and JJ…it's going to happen! And let's not forget baby Lizzie :) Thanks again for the reviews!**

_Morgan Residence_

"Okay, so we need to develop a plan," Penelope explained to Alex and Callie the morning after they'd arrived at their house. She was bouncing Elizabeth in her arms and she was making gurgling noises and her lips were forming something reminiscent of a smile. "Where should we do this?" Lizzie let out a small burp and Penelope wiped a small amount of spit from her daughter's mouth. "Derek, any advice here?" she asked. Her husband was sitting across the kitchen, reading the paper. He was still mad at her for the previous evening allowing Callie to stay in their guest room and Alex to crash on the couch.

"_Well, we're going to have to get going to find a hotel," Callie said as she finished her glass of wine._

_Penelope smiled widely. "Stay here!" she cried happily. "We've got a guest room and then one of you can sleep on the couch!"_

_Derek's eyes grew wide. "What?!"_

_Callie glanced between Penelope and Derek, not sure which of them she was supposed to listen to. She'd just gotten on Derek's good side by showing him some tricks for physical therapy. "Yep, stay here with us," she said with a grin. "No problem at all." She was all smiles and completely ignoring her husband's scowling._

"_Okay!" Alex said enthusiastically; clearly he wasn't worried about pissing Derek off._

"_What were you thinking, letting them stay with us?" Derek ground out as they were lying in bed that night. "How the hell am I supposed to make passionate love to you now?" he asked, kissing her neck and running his hand down her side._

_She giggled. "Oh Hot Stuff," she whispered, "you should know that we can take one night off."_

"They shouldn't go to the BAU," he ground out. "Not romantic."

Penelope kissed the top of her daughter's head and said thoughtfully, "You're right, you gooey chocolate ball of wonder. Emily walks to her car every Thursday at five pm when not on a case because she has yoga. I can get you there then." She scrutinized Alex closely. "You, Dr. Karev, will have to wait until JJ doesn't have Henry with her. It would be unfair to him to show up while he's there."

Alex nodded. "I wouldn't even be ready to meet the kid," he sighed with relief. "I'm not entirely sure I would ever be ready to meet the kid."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Oh, you silly surgeon," she scolded with fake sternness. "You are just fine with Lizzie here." She went to Derek and said, "Hey you. You wanna hold your little girl?"

Derek dropped his paper immediately and nodded vigorously with a smile. "Of course I want to hold her. Hey Princess," he murmured, tickling her.

Returning to the counter where Callie and Alex were sipping coffee, Penelope adjusted her glasses, this time a pair of thick sparkly black rims. "Henry is going with Will tomorrow, so it'll be the perfect time for you to make your move."

Alex's stomach began to churn. "Tell me where to go," he said.

Penelope grinned and said, "Okay, here's what's going to happen…"

XXXXX

_The Next Day – Home of Jennifer Jareau_

A knock sounded from JJ's door and she called, "Henry! Daddy's here!" She went to answer the door and opened it to reveal Will, standing with his hands in his pockets. "Hey Will," she said, opening the door wide enough for him to come in. She hadn't seen him at all at the church concert and hadn't heard about his thoughts on her encounter with Cheryl.

"So," he began as they waited for Henry to get his things together. "I hear you had a problem with Cheryl."

"She insulted Penelope with her racism," JJ stated bluntly. "Do you want a drink real quick?"

"How on earth could she insult Penelope with racism?" Will asked as if he couldn't believe it. "Penelope's white. And no, I'm good on a drink."

Scowling at him and pouring herself a glass of water, JJ said coldly, "She attacked Elizabeth for being interracial. And Will, I swear to God if she talks racism in front of Henry, I'll go to court and make sure she can't be around him."

Will sighed. "Look JJ, I'll have a talk with her. I don't want Henry hearing that either. I'm sorry." He actually appeared to be sincerely apologetic.

JJ nodded. "Thank you," she said softly. "I would appreciate it."

Henry came trotting into the kitchen with a giant smile on his face. "Hi Daddy!" he said excitedly. He ran towards Will and hugged him tightly. Gesturing to the yellow backpack on his back, he added, "I've got all my stuff. I'm all ready to go."

"Great job, buddy," Will said with a smile.

JJ smiled at Henry as he came towards her to hug her goodbye. "You be good for your Dad and Cheryl, okay?" she said, looking at him with seriousness.

Henry nodded and grinned. "You got it, Mom," he said.

Will held out his hand for Henry to take and he waved to JJ. "We'll see you later," he said as they disappeared.

JJ sighed when she heard the front door close. It was seven o'clock on Wednesday night and she had piles of paperwork to finish up before she could go to sleep. As she sat down on her living room couch with a glass of wine, she pulled out her files and began scratching away at the papers. After an hour of slaving away at work she didn't want to do, she put her head back against the couch cushions and stared at the ceiling. Henry was with Will for the rest of the week and through the weekend for vacation, so she had the whole house to herself. She was going to have to call Penelope and Emily to come over so she wouldn't waste away with ice cream and _Titanic_.

Rising from the couch to go to the kitchen, her gaze went across her front window and she froze. Standing under the street light was a man looking at her house. He was leaning against the street light and though she couldn't make him out exactly, she had a feeling in her gut that it was Alex. Which was impossible. Alex was three thousand miles away in Seattle, probably sleeping around with the nurses in the hospital. Shaking her head, she started walking away to the kitchen when she decided to look again out the window and see if the man was still there.

When she looked, no one was there.

**No Emily in this chapter, but she'll be a big part of the next chapter as Callie will be reappearing in her life :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's the next chapter! I've got a surprise in store for JJ and Callie and Emily meet up. By the way, did any of you do the Livechat with Shemar Moore for V-day? I did and it was awesome ;) I got a happy birthday!**

_Morgan Residence_

"You WHAT?" Penelope cried in disbelief. "You just stood there and then _walked_ away?" She and Alex were sitting in the living room during the afternoon while Derek was messing around in the kitchen, sulking more that Callie and Alex were still in the house. Elizabeth was sitting on her lap with a purple onesie on and her eyes were wide and staring at anything and everything that was sin the room. Her mother shifted her slightly on her lap and the little girl let out a small cry of protest but gradually settled down again. Penelope paused her spiel to coo soothingly at Lizzie, and then looked back up to study Alex again. "Alex," she continued, more gently this time. "You can't –" She paused to cover her daughter's ears before going on. " –chickenshit out of this. It's too important." Her hands came down again and her face resumed a smile.

Alex snorted a laugh. "She's an infant," he said. "She's not going to repeat you."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "I _know_ that, silly," she said with mock sternness. "I'm just practicing for later when there _is_ a problem of possible copycatting of whatever potty-mouth language her mommy may use." She tickled her daughter and looked at her curly haired head. "But anyway, you need to get the balls and tell her how you feel. Don't be like my fool husband and wait ten years to tell me."

"I heard that!" Derek said as he rolled himself into the room with a frown on his face. He wheeled himself to the couch and used his arms and one good leg to hoist himself onto the couch next to Penelope. "And it was just nine years." He leaned towards her and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Mind if I hold the princess?"

Penelope smiled softly at Derek holding their daughter and felt her heart swell. He was looking at Lizzie with all the love in the world and she knew she was the luckiest woman in the world. She put her hand behind his head and ran her nails in small circles over his skin. Lizzie smiled up at him and her small hands shot up in the air to clap. Derek grinned and looked up at Penelope excitedly. When their eyes met, he held her gaze and there was nothing but warmth and love in the depths of his deep cocoa-colored eyes.

"She hasn't smiled at me yet!" he exclaimed. "She just smiled at me, Baby Girl!" He was ecstatic as he babbled on. "This is awesome!"

Tears filled her eyes. It had been a little less than a month since they'd gotten back from Seattle and for most of it Derek had been a grump. The only time he was less distant from the world was with Lizzie. Even when the two of them were alone together, in and out of bed, he was somewhere else. Unless he was with their daughter, Derek didn't say much of anything. It was worrying her that he'd retreated so far within himself. She didn't know what the next months would be like for him without his job, but right at that moment, Penelope was positive he had come back to her.

XXXXX

Alex rose from the couch and stuck his hands in his pockets before exiting the living room. In the entire time he and Callie had been there, he hadn't seen the older man do much but grumble about their presence. He'd even been snippy with Penelope a few times. But the moment his daughter smiled at him he'd become an entirely different person. He was happy.

Callie had gone to get coffee for herself and Alex and was on her way back inside through the garage door. She held out his drink for him and said, "Caffeine for you, king of the dipshits." When he'd returned the evening before from JJ's house, Penelope and Derek had gone to bed exhausted, leaving Callie waiting up for Alex on the couch. She'd been the first to hear about his chickening out and had promptly gone to bed afterwards saying that she couldn't handle anymore drama for the evening. She looked at him in confusion as he held up his hand and shook his head about going into the living room. "Everything okay in there?" she asked with concern.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said with a small smile. Jerking a thumb in the direction of the living room, he added, "Lizzie smiled at him and he loosened up a whole lot. We should leave them be for a little while."

"That's uncharacteristically kind of you," she snickered, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Alex glanced into the living room again to see Derek holding Elizabeth up in the air and making whooshing noises in the process. Penelope had her head on his shoulder and was smiling. "Ah, well," he said, sitting across from her. "What can I say, I like these people. Even if the guy is kind of an ass." He smirked. "Plus, I have my moments."

"Yeah, and you've got to have one of those with Agent JJ now," she retorted by taking a sip of coffee.

"Yeah, well you need to go see Agent Prentiss tonight and get that over with so I can sleep in the spare room in the basement," he grumbled back. "I didn't get any sleep last night. Went to bed my ass. The two of them were going at it like rabbits all night. You're lucky you were in the basement."

Callie snorted. "Yes," she said. "Yes, I am."

XXXXX

It was three o'clock by the time Derek and Penelope came back from upstairs. Lizzie had gone to sleep and she remained upstairs, but after they'd taken her up the two of them remained up there for an hour.

"Sorry we left you hanging all afternoon," Penelope said, pushing Derek into the kitchen, her nails scratching small, sensual circles on the back of his neck when she thought the other two couldn't see. Her eyes shot to Callie's and she grinned. "So, we have two short hours until Agent Prentiss leaves for yoga." She rolled Derek to the table and planted a kiss on the top of his head before taking Callie's hands and pulling her out of the kitchen. "Girl time is in order before you embark on your journey!"

Callie just smiled. She felt sick to her stomach, but Penelope's smile was so infectious she couldn't help but smile back and laugh. Both of them went downstairs into their basement where they passed by Derek's exercise equipment and their entertainment center was to the guest room. "No boys allowed," she said simply. "This is our get-ready-to-see-Emily Prentiss time. Have you brought anything…lovely?" She waggled her eyebrows at her, earning a laugh from Callie.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

Penelope clapped excitedly and let out a small yelp of excitement. "This is exciting indeed!" She gestured to the suitcase. "May I?"

Nodding, Callie said, "Go for it." As Penelope excitedly unzipped her suitcase, she sighed and added, "Hey Penelope?" Penelope looked up at smiled. "I just wanted to thank you. Really. I don't know how to show you I am grateful." She gave her a tentative smile and tilted her head to the side.

"Not a problem," she chirped. "You are great for Em and I want to help you."

Callie simply smiled as Penelope pulled out low cut pink blouse. "Let's get this done with."

XXXXX

_FBI Parking Garage_

Derek had given information on how to get to the BAU and the exact parking lot where Emily parked her car. Penelope had helped her pick out the right outfit; not too formal, but not too casual. She was wearing the low-cut pink blouse and low-ride jeans along with a pair of flats. A lot of low clothing.

Right now she was waiting against the wall of the parking lot by Emily car. It was five to five and according to Penelope it would be exactly five o'clock when she would emerge into the garage to go to her yoga session. All Callie could do was wait patiently and that was not exactly helpful to her. Her nerves were on edge. What if things went bad? What if she ended up like Alex and ran away without saying a word?

The minutes ticked by and her palms were starting to sweat. Her pulse was speeding up and she began to pace. She looked at her watch; 4:59. Now her breathing had increased. There was the sound of clicking shoes coming towards her, but no sign of anyone yet. Callie prayed this would go well. She was praying extremely hard. When she saw the creamy skin and brunette hair coming around the corner with her black handbag on her arm and she was fiddling with her keys. She looked up from her purse to point her keys to the car. They fell to the ground and so did her mouth. Callie came forward from the wall and raised a hand to wave. She smiled. "Hi Emily," she said.

Emily's purse and keys fell to the floor and she ran towards Callie hurriedly. When their lips met and Callie's arms wrapped around her neck her heart leapt internally. She fell back against the hood of her car and laughed. When the heated kiss finally broke and Callie rested her forehead against, Emily whispered, "I missed you! What are you doing here? Is Alex here too?"

Callie smiled brightly and nodded. Her hand cupped Emily's cheek and she felt a few tears in her eyes. "I came for you, Emily," she said. "Alex is here too, but that's not what I'm here to tell you. I'm here to tell you that the least three weeks have been hell for me. I can't stop thinking about you and I –" She took a deep breath. "I can't do anything but think that – that I love you."

"I love you too," Emily whispered back, kissing her fiercely in response.

XXXXX

_Residence of Jennifer Jareau_

On Friday morning JJ woke up and immediately raced to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. Her head was pounding and she was tense. She rose from the ground and padded into the kitchen to make coffee before work and took four asprin from the bottle she had in the top cabinet. She went to look at her calendar to see if she had anything planned for the day after work and frowned for a moment. It had been a little while since she'd looked and seen a red dot indicating her period.

_Oh, God_, she thought with a gulp.

She was late.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Not one thing belongs to me :'(**

**So yes…JJ is preggo. Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them! Enjoy this one :)**

_Residence of Jennifer Jareau_

JJ ran to the bathroom again after she looked at the calendar, this time because of fright. Vomiting into the toilet for the second time that morning, she flushed the toilet and sat on the floor of her bathroom, leaning against the bathtub with her knees pulled up to her chin. Her whole body was shaking violently. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be pregnant. She may not have taken a test yet, but she had a sinking feeling in her gut that it would be a positive one. The worst part was that the only person who could be the father of the possible baby was Alex Karev. A womanizing, playboying doctor whom she had slept with twice and was most definitely not in love with her.

What the hell was she going to do?

XXXXX

With shaking hands JJ paid for the pregnancy test at the pharmacy on her way to the BAU. She knew most women would put it off, avoid the topic of a possible pregnancy, but she had to find out immediately. She couldn't put it off. The cashier looked at her oddly as she took her money and gave her the bag with the pregnancy test to her.

"First time?" she asked, giving JJ the receipt.

JJ's face shot up to look at her and she stumbled over words. "Wh-what?" she stuttered. "First what?"

The cashier smirked. "You heard me sweetheart," she said. "I wouldn't worry too much. Husbands have a tendency to be happy about these things." She winked.

JJ just nodded and didn't say anything. She didn't have the heart to tell this woman that her husband had left her for another woman, she slept with someone who obviously didn't care about her, and then he'd knocked her up. It would just put a damper on her day.

XXXXX

_The BAU_

JJ was pacing around in the BAU bathroom after taking her pregnancy test, waiting for the results of it. She couldn't help but beat herself over the head internally for this. If the test was positive (and she was pretty sure she was for some odd reason) what was she going to do? She already had Henry and she was completely single. Was she going to have to tell Alex? Would he even want to hear it from her if she did? What was Penelope going to say? Or the rest of the team?

The five minute timer she'd had going in her head went off and she looked up at the test lying on the counter and made a grab for it. On the stick was a small, little pink plus sign and JJ's gut dropped a million feet. She was pregnant, and she was pregnant with Alex's baby. Tears filled her eyes and her breathing increased in speed. Sliding to the floor, she put her head in her hands and let a few tears fall before wiping her face and rising from the ground again. She took a long and slow breath to try and regain composure over herself. It wasn't working; she was too panicked. There wasn't a case to be looked over, so they were just at the BAU all day, looking over paper work. Finding Emily and talking to her in private would be possible.

She rushed out of the bathroom and back to the bullpen where she scanned the premises for any sign of Emily. At his desk was Reid, reading a huge book and tapping his foot against the floor. Rossi and Hotch were both working in their offices and Emily was nowhere to be found. Hurriedly she stopped at Reid's desk and choked a question out. "Have you seen Em anywhere?"

Reid looked up and shook his head. He frowned. "No, she called Hotch and asked for a personal day," he said. He studied her face and asked with concern, "JJ, are you okay? You look really…shaken."

She shook her head. "I have to get out of here," she stammered. If Emily had taken a personal day then she probably couldn't bother her. She needed to find Penelope. "I'll see you later Reid." Not bothering to answer his questions, she strode quickly into Hotch's office. He looked up in surprise at her, but before he could get a word out she was speaking. "Hotch, I know this is a lot to ask, but I really need to go see Penelope. It's – an emergency," she stammered.

JJ very purposefully left out the part about her pregnancy.

Hotch looked at her with extreme alarm. "Is everything okay?" he asked gently. "You look ill."

She shook her head. "No," she said in a tremendously quiet voice. "I have a problem. I would trust you enough to tell you what the issue is, but it really –" Her voice broke and she had to hurry to wipe the tears away before they made a mess of her face.

He nodded with sympathy. "Anything you need, JJ," he said kindly. "In fact, do you want me to drive you? You can't be driving in this condition." He stood up from behind his desk and grabbed the jacket of his suit. She couldn't do anything but stare at him.

"Alright," she said gratefully. "Thank you, Hotch." She walked along behind her boss as he escorted her to his car. The entire way there she mentally prepared herself for what she was going to tell Penelope.

XXXXX

_Morgan Residence_

JJ knocked fiercely on the door of Penelope and Derek's house, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited impatiently for her to answer the door. Her stomach was churning viciously and the only thing keeping her on her feet was Hotch's hand on her shoulder. The twenty minute drive from the BAU to the Morgans' home was silent for them and JJ was thankful for her boss being so understanding of the need for silence.

"Coming!" Penelope's voice sang out before the door opened. Her eyes were extremely wide when she saw the upset JJ with Hotch at her side. "Jayje?" she said quietly. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Sniffling, JJ said, "PG, I need to talk to you in private. It's really important."

Ushering them inside, Penelope motioned for JJ to follow her up the stairs. "Hotch, Derek's in the living room with…well, he's in there." Hotch nodded and Penelope dragged JJ upstairs to her and Derek's bedroom. "Okay," she said softly, shutting the door behind her. She pulled JJ into a tight hug and then motioned for her to sit next to her on the bed. "Start from the beginning and tell me everything."

JJ took a deep shaky breath. "This morning I woke up and felt sick," she said in a shaky voice. "I spent my morning before getting to work vomiting. But that's when I looked at my calendar."

Penelope's face paled. "Oh, God…" she said slowly.

"I missed my period," JJ continued, "so I immediately bought a pregnancy test. I had to know if I was going crazy or not. If hadn't looked I – Anyway, I took the test at the BAU this morning." She stopped to choke on a sob. "Pen, I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant with a man's baby who doesn't want me! What am I going to do?"

Taking both of JJ's hands, Penelope murmured, "Jayje, I think you'll find that he may want you. I think you may find that he even loves you." She tucked a strand of hair behind JJ's ear. "You have to tell him."

"He's all the way in Seattle!" she cried. "How can I possibly tell him? Pen, I didn't tell you what really happened with us. It –"

Penelope held up her hand to stop JJ's frantic speech. "JJ, I know what happened," she explained softly. "I know everything."

JJ's red and puffy eyes met hers and she cocked her head to the side. "Wh-what?" she stammered. "How do you know?"

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Because he told me."

XXXXX

_Residence of Emily Prentiss_

Emily woke up feeling content, her body wrapped comfortingly in Callie's warm arms. When her alarm had gone off at six in the morning, she'd promptly called Hotch to ask for a personal day provided there were no cases. As soon as her boss had confirmed there wasn't anything but paperwork to be done, Emily had hung up the phone and fallen asleep with Callie. Now it was ten in the morning and Callie was stirring next to her. Stretching, her eyes fluttered open and her huge brown eyes looked at her sleepily.

"Morning," Emily whispered, trailing her index finger down the side of Callie's face. A ray of sunlight caught got itself caught in Callie's raven hair and bathed her face in a soft glow that made her heart flutter faster. She was so beautiful.

Callie's grin broke out over her face and she leaned up to place a tender kiss on Emily's lips. "Morning to you too," she said. "I heard your alarm go off this morning, but I was so tired I didn't get up. Did you skip work?"

Emily laughed. "Yeah," she said. "We didn't have any cases today; just paperwork. So, I asked my boss if he didn't need me if I could have a personal day. I didn't say why because I thought spending the day with my lover isn't what he would want to hear."

That made Callie giggle. "Yeah, that might not be the wisest thing to tell a boss," she replied. She started to sit up and leaned her head against the headboard, pulling Emily closer to her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm so glad I came," she murmured.

Emily looked up at her and smiled. "Why did you come?" she asked. "I'm so glad you did, but I never would've thought…"

"Alex and I got _really_ hammered one night at Joe's after work and Lexie had a…chat with us," she explained, trying to find the right word for what Lexie had said to them. "The next week we were at the airport with Lexie and Mark putting us on a plane and shipping us out here."

"Lexie was a sweet girl," Emily said, remembering the doctor who'd befriended Penelope in addition to Alex and Callie. "I'm glad she talked some sense into you two. She's a genius." She laughed and let one of her arms snake around Callie's waist. "Remind me to thank her next time I see her." Sitting up so her head was more level with Callie's, she added, "By the way, how's it been staying with Derek and Penelope? That must've been an experience." She gave her a wry smile.

This caused Callie to snort. "Your buddy Derek is quite the character," she said. "He's been nothing but gripe for most of the time we've seen him."

Emily nodded. "Yeah, that's what Garcia said," she said. "The only time he comes alive is when he's got Lizzie with him."

"Oh! I almost forgot! She smiled at him yesterday!" Callie told her excitedly. "That made him less complain-y." She grinned again, this time from the thought of having a child who made her feel that happy and complete someday.

"Someday that'll be you," Emily said, tweaking her on the nose. "You'll be a great mom." With wide eyes, Callie looked at her and her mouth dropped open slightly, causing her to laugh. "What? You don't think you would all of the sudden? I'm not saying I'm ready now, but I can see us having kids. Can't you?"

Tears were glistening on the surface of Callie's eyes. She'd not felt this way in a while: warm, respected, _loved._ Emily was telling her that she wasn't ready yet, but that someday they could have kids. Pulling Emily towards her for a kiss, she pressed her lips to hers gently and tentatively. It wasn't a hard or passionate kiss. It was just one filled with love. When she pulled away, Emily looked surprised.

"Whoa," she said with a whistle. "What was that for?"

"For being you," Callie responded. "I love you, Emily," she murmured. "I really do."

Emily smiled and kissed her back. "I know," she whispered.

XXXXX

_Morgan Residence_

When Agent Hotchner entered the living room, Alex sat bolt up from the floor from playing with Elizabeth. Penelope had been working on getting him out of his shell and so far she'd been moderately successful; he was playing with an infant on the floor of a house. He never would have done that before. She was also trying to loosen him up to get him to talk about JJ. He knew she wanted him out of the house too. Not because she didn't want him there, like her husband, but because she wanted him to make JJ and himself happy.

Alex had come to the conclusion that Penelope was one of his top five favorite people of all time by then.

The older agent's eyes went wide and he looked between Derek and Alex. "Um, hi," he said. "Dr. Karev isn't it?"

Alex nodded and waved. "That's me," he said, coughing slightly.

It was then a look of realization overtook Hotch and he rolled his eyes. Derek snorted from his spot on the couch. "What? It's my house. I'm the one who should be doing that since he hasn't left yet." He smirked at Alex and Alex returned the very same look. He only broke it when Elizabeth started swatting at his hands to get him to pay attention to her again. Now he was smiling at the baby and handing her one of the toys Penelope had left out.

"No, it's Prentiss," Hotch mumbled. "She told me she needed a 'personal day' today if we didn't have a case. Now I know why she needed said day. She's with Dr. Torres." Behind his grumbling though it was fairly clear he was trying to hide a smirk. "Does JJ know you're here?" he asked Alex, sitting down on the couch.

It was Derek who answered for him. "No," he said. "No, she does not. If she did then he wouldn't be here." He was looking rather smug with himself at the moment and Alex ignored him. Before Hotch or he could continue, Penelope reentered the room with a grim expression on her face. Derek looked at her, his tone immediately changed to concerned. "Baby Girl?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

She shook her head at him swiftly, telling him to stop talking. "Alex," she said softly, her tone of voice neutral. "Can I speak with you please?"

Alex nodded, not quite sure what was going on. He picked up Lizzie and handed her off to a very eager Derek whom she smiled at again in that moment. When he joined Penelope, the two of them walked into the kitchen. "What's going on Penelope?" he asked. Her overly calm behavior was worrying him slightly. She never acted this calm. At least she hadn't while he'd been here.

She took a deep breath before opening her mouth to speak. "Okay Alex," she said softly. "You need to stay super, super calm right now. JJ came to the house. That's why Hotch is here. She was extremely upset."

He held up his hands. "I swear I didn't say anything to her," he protested. "Remember, I chickened out before I could go talk to her?"

Taking his hands, she said, "Alex, Alex…I know that. She's upset for a different reason. She…" Her voice trailed off as she continued to study him. "Alex, I need to know right now, once and for all, do you love her?" His uncomfortable look didn't stop her from going on. "I know you're scared and I know you're hesitant to fall in love because of those horrible things your wife did, but when I look at you I see a man in love. Okay? I see someone like Derek. I see someone who's scared to trust, but they know they fell for someone and that scares the shit out of them. But, you _can_ do this."

His head tilted to the side. "You're trying to tell me something, but I can't figure it out," he huffed, avoiding the topic.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm trying to tell you something," she said. "But you need to stop avoiding the topic right now and tell me the truth: do you love my best friend?" Her face was deadly serious right now, her eyes so sharp they could've cut him like glass. It scared the shit out of him.

But instead of doing what he usually did and running, he took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "I love her. I love her…a lot." He wasn't a very wordy person. He couldn't express himself with fancy language, so he settled for what he could… "a lot."

Smiling, she said, "Okay then. Now, you need to be super strong and know that if you break this girl's heart I'm going to break all of you. So, JJ was upset this morning because she found something out. Something she's really scared of because she thinks you don't love her. And her already fragile self can't take rejection right now. She's going to need her strength for this."

His gut dropped. "Wait, are you trying to tell me…" His voice trailed off. Maybe if he didn't think about what he thought it might be he wouldn't have the terrible feeling he was having.

She nodded earnestly. "You know what I'm trying to tell you," she said inaudibly. "JJ's pregnant." She studied him for a moment and waited for a response that wasn't just a blank stare. "Alex, you've got to say something."

Alex mouth was dry and his joints were stiff. It was blatantly clear to him when he tried to nod his head and he found it hard. Opening his sandpaper mouth, he said, "I – I need to –" He coughed again and knew his face was pale right now. But even though he was looking at Penelope, he wasn't even thinking about her. His mind was with his heart: upstairs somewhere with JJ. Though he was scared out of his mind, he realized something. What Izzie had done to him wasn't what JJ had ever or would ever do to him. She was a good and kind-hearted woman who was like him, wounded and distrustful of many people. JJ wouldn't do to him what his ex-wife had done. So instead of bolting out the door as he had wanted to do a moment ago, he stood up straighter and nodded firmly.

"I need to go upstairs and here the news from JJ," he said finally, watching as Penelope's tears overflowed her eyes and she smiled at him warmly.

She pulled him in for a hug and whispered in his ear, "I knew you could do it."

For once since he'd hugged someone in a while, he hugged her back sincerely and smiled. "Which way?"

Yes. He could do this.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I own not a thing.**

**Chapter 20! Thanks to all who have reviewed and read :) I appreciate it loads. Here's the awaited conversation between JJ and Alex. We've also got more lovey dovey Callie and Emily and then we've got an apology from Derek to Penelope for being such a grouchy pants. Enjoy!**

_Morgan Residence_

"_What do you mean?" JJ squeaked. "How-how did he tell you?"_

_Penelope pursed her lips. "Because he's here," she said nervously, wringing her hands together. She was guilty for not telling her sooner – JJ could see that clearly. Her breathing increased and her throat constricted, so she got up and ran to the bathroom, throwing up once again. In an instant Penelope was behind her, holding her hair back. She coughed several times before flushing the toilet and rising to unsteady feet. Her head was spinning and she had to lean against the sink to stay standing._

"_He's here?" she whispered. Penelope nodded and she shook her head. So her gut had been right the night she'd seen the man outside her house. She wasn't going insane; it really had been Alex. "How long?"_

_Again, Penelope answered her with angst on her face. "Callie and he arrived at the beginning of the week. Lexie kicked them in the pants and sent them here to find you and Emily. They were a mess and they needed to find you."_

"_Why didn't you tell me?" JJ demanded, tears rising in her eyes and the color draining from her face. The morning sickness was still having an effect on her._

"_Because it's up to Alex to do this," she sighed. "He _needed_ to do this. He was supposed to talk to you on Wednesday, but he got cold feet and was scared."_

"_I know that now!" she said in frustration. "I saw him! Outside my window. I thought I was going crazy!"_

_Penelope took JJ by the forearms and said, "Jayje, he came to Derek and me to get the courage to tell you how he feels. How he truly feels. He wouldn't have come if he didn't love you."_

"_Even if that's the case, he's not going to want a baby!" she cried._

"_Not true either," Penelope interrupted. "He's great with Lizzie. A little frightened at first maybe, but never the less is great with her. And she's loving him too." She tried giving JJ a comforting smile to ease her worry._

_JJ yanked her arms back from Penelope's grasp. "We live three thousand miles away from each other. Nine months won't be such a problem, but when I have the baby it will be a _huge_ problem."_

_Pulling her in for a hug, she murmured, "Can I have him come up?" Seeing her look of fright, she added quickly, "Please. Listen to him. He's sincere. He loves you."_

_JJ bowed her head and bit her lip. She didn't want to see him if she could help it. Avoidance was her favorite option right now. With a churning stomach though, she nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll talk to him."_

XXXXX

A soft knock came from the door and JJ took a hesitant breath before calling out, "Come in." The door opened and Alex came in. Their eyes met and JJ forced herself not to tear up. So far she was moderately successful.

"JJ," he said with a soft hesitation. His face was awash with guilt and his arms were crossed over his chest. He looked regretful and she knew he felt it too. "Penelope told me about…" He paused, his face white with fear and he was starting to sweat. It made her afraid that he was going to say, _You're on your own. Sorry. I'll send child support_. But instead he just seemed anxious. She stood frozen in place, unable to move and she just stared at him.

"I – I really am not very good at this," he said, stumbling over his words. "What I'm trying to say is –"

With a voice full of hurt, JJ interrupted him. "Alex, I get it. It's not a big deal if you don't want to be around this baby. I'd at least like it if you would meet him or her, but –"

He shook his head vigorously. "No, JJ. That's not what I'm trying to say. What I'm trying to say is I came here for you to tell you I'm sorry and I want to give you the proper respect…and love you deserve. I'm not going to lie: a baby scares the shit out of me, but the second Penelope told me, the only thing that scared me was me. I don't know if I'd ever be ready for being a dad. I love Lizzie, but that's probably only because I like her parents. But one thing I can say for sure is that there is no one I would rather be one with than you. I'm a coward for what I said in Seattle because I was afraid you might be using me. But you're not like that. You're nothing like my ex-wife.

"So if you're okay with it, I'd like nothing more than to move here and be here for our baby. And you," he finished, the nervousness still on his face. However, his eyes showed his feelings: he was one hundred percent sincere.

A few tears fell down her face and her heart soared. A few breaths escaped her throat that were shaky and unsteady. Slowly they walked towards each other. Alex placed his hands gently on both her cheeks to cup her face. And just as he had in the supply closet, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips that told her exactly who he was and what he felt. There was nothing else but compassion in his touch. No drop of lust; just unconditional love. She didn't know how she could've ever doubted him; he didn't know how he could've abandoned her. The kiss broke after a few moments their foreheads rested against the other's.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I never meant to hurt you." He ran his thumb over her cheek bone and repeated, "I'm so sorry, JJ."

She shook her head and sniffled. "I never should have said I was nowhere important. I _was_ somewhere very important."

He smirked at her. "So I know this is an odd question?"

"What's that?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Can I, like, stay at your place?" he asked, tilting both their bodies to the right. "Because while I like Penelope and Derek, hearing them go at it all night is _not_ my idea of a pleasant evening."

She grinned. "Yes," she whispered, pulling him to her for another kiss. "Yes, you can."

XXXXX

_Near the Residence of Emily Prentiss_

Callie and Emily had gotten out of bed and were now walking hand in hand down the street to a café to get brunch. When they arrived and got a table, they both ordered a coffee, Emily drinking hers black and Callie adding two sugars. Underneath the table Emily had slipped off her shoe and was rubbing her foot around Callie's ankle, earning herself a coy smirk from across the table. The elderly couple sitting at the table in view of their booth shot them a dirty look, the lady of the couple crossing herself. All they both did was smirk.

Their waiter (different from the one who'd taken their drink orders) came over and gaped at Callie's breasts that were very clearly on display. Grinning at her, he put on a cheesy smoldering look and said, "What can I get for you?"

She looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow before saying, "Get me the works: eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, you know the drill." She immediately turned her attention back to Emily and rolled her eyes in the direction of the waiter who was at least ten years younger than her.

Emily smirked as well and ordered a waffle and sausage before taking Callie's hand so the waiter could see exactly who had Callie's affections. He simply coughed a few times, cleared his throat, and said, "Yes. Of course. Those will be right out."

"You're just so beautiful people can't control themselves around you," she said coquettishly, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles.

Callie grinned. "That and my breasts," she snickered, tilting her chin down to gesture to her chest.

"Those too," Emily laughed. "But none of them know what those gorgeous beauties look like." Throwing her head back, Callie laughed and smiled warmly at her. It was then Emily knew she would truly want forever with this woman.

XXXXX

After they'd eaten brunch, Callie and Emily drove to Penelope and Derek's home to visit. They wanted to tell them about their reuniting and Emily was eager to see Elizabeth again, having not seen her since before their last case. "How's little Lizzie been?" Emily asked as they walked up the steps of the porch. "I missed her and her cute little face." She grinned at Callie.

"Wonderful," Callie said. "She smiled at Derek a few days ago and he about passed out with happiness. He's been a giant grouch since we've been here. He's even closed himself off from Penelope. They've gotten along better since she smiled at him though." Emily knocked on the door and Penelope was there in an instant with a huge smile on her face and a few tears swimming in her eyes. Callie instantly was concerned. "Penelope? Is everything okay?"

She nodded dynamically. "It's perfect," she said. "JJ and Alex…they talked. It's all okay now!"

XXXXX

The moment Alex and JJ descended from upstairs with smiles on their face and hands together, Penelope felt her heart leap with happiness. Callie and Alex's trip had gone exactly the way they wanted it to. JJ had Alex and he was going to support her and love her. Emily had Callie and they would have each other. It had all gone swimmingly even though JJ had started out scared out of her wits about her pregnancy. The only thing that would complete her happiness about the moment was if Derek would make some indication of being alive and around. She'd thought she'd seen a glimpse of him being back to her when Lizzie smiled at him the first time, but he'd gone back to being a grump unless with their daughter.

It was killing her. Even though he was making love to her as much as they usually did, he wasn't entirely with her. He didn't talk, only grunted responses.

Alex and JJ had sat down on the floor between the couches and were playing with Lizzie and Callie and Emily had joined them, sitting on the couch Hotch was on and chatting amicably with him. Derek on the other hand was sitting stony-faced on the couch and was in the process of moving onto his wheelchair. Penelope watched him wheel himself into the kitchen and followed after him. He was getting a bottle of water from the fridge and Penelope leaned against the counter. "Hey Hot Stuff," she said, moving from the counter to go to him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed the side of his face. "You doing okay?" She winced when he stiffened. "You seem really tense."

"Fine," he snapped. "Nothing wrong at all."

She removed her arms from him and put her hands on her hips when he turned his chair around. "Don't you dare be that way with me Derek Morgan," she growled. "I'm just trying to help you. I want to understand what's going on. Why won't you talk to me? Why are you closing yourself off? Sure, you make love to me like there's no tomorrow, but you won't talk to me! What's wrong?"

He frowned at her. "Nothing," he growled. "Leave me alone, Penelope."

She leaned forward and put her hands angrily on the arms of his wheelchair. "No!" she hissed angrily. "When I married you, I promised that I would always look after you. And you promised the very same thing to me. We can't break that promise when things get hard. That's part of being married. And right now I am doing everything I can to help you, but you're making it practically impossible! Now tell me what the hell is going on with you!"

He looked up at her angrily. "Nothing is wrong with me."

She glared at him. "How can you not trust me, Derek?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Why are you shutting me out?"

"Because I'm stuck in this damn chair and can't do anything!" he cried. "I can't pick up my own daughter without someone handing her to me, I can't play with her the way you and Alex can, I can't do any of that! I'm not trying to shut you out, it's just happening and I can't stop it. I do trust you, Baby Girl. I just don't know how to express that I'm upset."

With tears in her eyes, Penelope's face softened and she murmured, "Oh Derek. Please let me help you!"

He bent his head in shame. "Baby girl, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so mortified with myself right now. I can't believe what I'm putting you through and I'm making you feel isolated. I made you feel like I didn't care about you and I'll never forgive myself for that. I feel like I'm pushing you so far away I might lose you."

Kneeling down next to his chair, she took his hand and kissed it. "Derek baby, you never have to worry about losing my love. I'm not going anywhere. Ever." Her hand stroked his cheek and she smiled tearfully at him. "You're going to have to tell me you love me a lot from now on though," she teased. "But you'll never lose me. I love you too damn much for that."

Derek wiped a tear of his own away and grasped her hand tightly. "I love you, Penelope," he whispered tenderly. "I love you so much."

She rose from the ground and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. "I know you do, Hot Stuff," she replied. "I know you do. Just the same as I love you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's the newest chapter! I know a lot of you are excited to see Baby Jareau-Karev and you will :) Thank you for the reviews and enjoy this chapter.**

**FYI: Rated M…just to be safe.**

_Morgan Residence – Next Morning_

Penelope woke up the next morning to the sound of Elizabeth crying on the baby monitor. She yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Next to her Derek lay snoring. As she removed his arm from around his waist, he gave a small grunt of protest, but otherwise didn't stir. She kissed the top of his head before going down the hallway to Elizabeth's nursery. Pushing the door open, she whispered, "Hi you! What's going on silly girl?" She reached into the crib to take her daughter in her arms and rubbed her back gently. "You're hungry, aren't you?" she cooed. Elizabeth's cries turned to little whimpers and sniffles as Penelope sat down in the rocking chair and pulled down her nightie to allow her to nurse. As Elizabeth suckled, Penelope stroked her little cheek and looked at her beautiful wide brown eyes identical to her own.

Love filled her heart and she just savored the moment she was having with her baby. She was so blissfully happy and she prayed to God her daughter would never know pain. She wanted nothing more than to shield her from anything that might harm her: mean girls on the playground, boyfriends who hurt her feelings, cuts and bruises from falling off her bike. It was unrealistic, but she could still dream for it. The child in her arms was the most important person in the world to her other than Derek. She would do anything for her.

Gradually Elizabeth unlatched her mouth from Penelope's breast and her eyes fluttered shut. Penelope rose from the chair and put her back in her crib, kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams my little Lizzie," she murmured lovingly. She made sure the purple baby blanket was pulled gently over her before returning to her room and to Derek. He was awake when she returned, smiling lazily at her with his bright grin. She snuggled close to his side in bed, relishing the warmth of his body. "Been up long?" she murmured against his chest.

"Mmm, you know I don't sleep well when you're not beside me," he mumbled against her neck. "It's why I don't sleep much on cases. I need your sweet toosh next to me."

She giggled a response against the sheets. "Oh Hot Stuff," she moaned pleasantly. "You always know what to say."

Grasping her by the hips, he pulled her on top of him and she straddled his waist. She grasped his face and kissed him fiercely. "We can be as loud as we want," she whispered, nipping at his ear. "Alex is at JJ's; Callie is at Emily's…" She ran her hands across his chest, digging her nails into his shoulders. "I can scream all I want." Her lips kissed his gently, teasing and then trailed along his throat. "We can bang the headboard against the wall all we want. We can go have sex on the stairs if we _really_ wanted."

He laughed. "Yes we could indeed," he grunted as her hands slid underneath the sheets and down his torso to his groin. He momentarily grasped her wrists and pulled her face towards his. "Baby Girl, I want to apologize again. For how I've been acting. I should never have treated you like that and –"

She kissed him to shut him up. "Stop talking, Hot Stuff," she murmured, "and make love to me." She pushed his pants down and slid down onto him, moaning with pleasure as her body filled with ecstasy. Starting the perfect rhythm they'd mastered since the first time they made love, Penelope made good on her promise to scream and bang the headboard against the wall.

When they climaxed at the exact same moment and he came inside of her, she sagged against his chest and laughed. "I love being on top all the time," she cooed, finally sliding off top of him and curling into his side. She turned her head to look at him and touched his face gently. "Derek, I want you to know that I love you so much," she murmured. "You'll never lose me for as long as we live. It doesn't matter how many fights we get into. I'm always going to be here."

His eyes met hers, still onyx with the passion that had just coursed through their bodies. Smiling, he murmured, "You are so forgiving, even when I don't deserve it, Baby Girl. It's one of the many, many things I love about you. I'll always be eternally grateful that I found you and asked you out to dinner that first time."

"You were a nervous wreck that day," she laughed as they reminisced. "You had trouble talking. Ironic that we flirted for so long and you couldn't even manage a few words."

"I'm surprised you didn't think I was a bumbling idiot after that little incident," he chuckled.

"Oh, I've always thought you were a bumbling idiot," she teased. "I just love you too much to tell you otherwise."

He let out a hearty laugh and pulled her to his side even tighter, his arms wrapped protectively around her. His fingers traced small circles across her breasts and he said what he'd said the first time he'd confessed his love. "Hey Silly Girl…I love you, you know that right?"

She looked up at him from her place beside him and murmured, "I love you too."

XXXXX

_Residence of Emily Prentiss – Evening_

"I'm moving here," Callie said decisively as they sat on Emily's sofa. Emily's feet were on her lap and she was massaging them gently. They were sitting by candlelight with glasses of wine and Emily's cat Sergio was purring around them. It was late in the evening and they'd spent the entire day with Penelope and Derek. JJ and Alex had played with Lizzie and he'd spent much of the time glued to her side, much to everyone's pleasure. It seemed their conversation had gone swimmingly. Hotch had returned to the BAU to finish work for the day, but after working hours were finished, he returned with Jack. Rossi and Reid had been right behind him and they'd spent the night laughing and having a good time. Penelope and Derek had returned to their usual behavior of not keeping their hands off one another and Rossi began to crack jokes about how many babies they would be having in the future.

"You would do that?" Emily asked with wide eyes. "You would move three thousand miles away for a woman you're only met a month ago?"

Callie nodded sincerely and took a sip of her wine. "I'm an adult," she said confidently. "I know what I want…you."

Usually the thought would have frightened the hell out of Emily. To have someone tell her they wanted her after knowing her for only a month was something that didn't often happen. She'd seen it only once before with Derek and Penelope. Their relationship had always been an exception to any set of rules that ever existed. But for once in her life she wasn't afraid. With Callie she felt at ease, she had since the moment she'd met her. So to answer her, she pulled her into a tender kiss. "Move in with me?"

"I would love to," Callie said with a grin.

"How does that sound Sergio?" Emily clucked to the cat. "You cool with having another mommy?" The cat simply meowed in response and flicked his tail. She looked up at Callie and grinned. "That's yes in cat-speak." Her hand touched her cheek gently and she giggled. "As long as you don't eat his food."

"I think I can manage not to do that," Callie assured her with a beaming smile.

XXXXX

"So when do you need to go back to Seattle?" Emily asked over coffee when they woke up to her alarm. Though Hotch had let her absence slide yesterday, she was going to have to go in today for the newest case they'd caught in Louisiana. "To take care of things, I mean?"

Callie sipped from her steaming mug. "I'll stay until Alex is ready to go back," she said. "We can hand in our resignations together, finish up with our current patients, then we can be back out here. I don't have that much stuff to move, so it won't be too long. And Karev I know for a fact doesn't have much."

Nodding, Emily said, "Bonding time for you and Serg!" She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry you just got here and I have to go so soon," she added. "This job sucks sometimes."

Shaking her head, she smiled. "It's okay, Emily," she murmured. "It's the same with being a surgeon. Long hours, married to the job when you're there. I understand."

"You going to apply for a job in DC?" Emily asked, pulling her jacket on. "There are some really good ones."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan." She smirked before adding, "And Derek's condition of letting me date you was that I take him on as a patient again. It sounds like he doesn't think to highly of his current ortho."

Emily smirked. "It's a miracle he liked you," she snickered. "Derek's not a huge fan of being physically restricted and anyone who tries to keep him down just becomes the enemy."

"The nurses at Seattle Grace for example?"

"Huh?" Emily asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You didn't hear about this?" Callie laughed. "After Penelope had Elizabeth and he woke up, he tried to walk out of the room to go and find them. Twice. The nurses had to threaten to tie him to the bed. They nicknamed him 'Runaway Daddy.'"

A Cheshire cat smile took over Emily's face and she snickered. "Now I have something to use against him." She leaned down to Callie who was still sitting and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll call you," she whispered. Moving some hair from her forehead, she kissed her again and said, "See you later."

Callie blushed and responded, "Stay safe."

XXXXX

_Residence of Jennifer Jareau – Evening_

"I couldn't get the courage to talk to you the first time I came here," Alex said with a blush as JJ opened the door to her house. He followed her through the atrium and into the living room, his eyes landing on the pictures she kept of Henry and herself. He whistled as he went closer to the wall and the lights turned on. "He looks just like you," he said, turning to look at her with a crooked smile and pointing at a school picture.

JJ looked at the picture he was pointing at and smiled proudly. "I know," she said smugly. "Thank God too because I'm much better looking than his father." She watched him from the corner of her eyes and noticed he was watching her as well. He pulled her towards him into an embrace and kissed her. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she clung to him tightly like a liferaft. From not having been with anyone for a month, she was painfully aroused and she let out a moan as his hands brushed over her breasts.

His finger skillfully started to unbutton her shirt and she let out a soft sigh of pleasure. Though they'd had a rocky first meeting, the moment he'd wrapped his arms around her she felt safe and secure. It was something she'd never truly felt with Will. This was perfect for her, like they fit together in exact unison. His lips trailed hotly down her neck and she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, savoring the feeling.

"Where's the bedroom?" he breathed out.

"Upstairs," she murmured. He backed her up against the wall and she let out a giggle.

"Wrap your legs around me," he said. She complied, keeping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He took the steps two at a time to get to the top of stairs. The entire way up they exchanged fiery, his hands entangling in her hair and her nails digging into the skin on the back of his neck. They stumbled into her bedroom and he laid her gently on the bed before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside. She smiled shyly up at him as he crawled over her, his knee parting her thighs in the process. He placed kisses on her shoulders and pulled her up to kiss her lips before unclasping her bra. Sliding the straps down, her petite breasts became visible to him and he sucked in a breath.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured. And he meant it. Alex had never been more sincere when telling a woman that. But looking down at JJ, knowing she was going to be having his baby, he'd never felt more alive and he'd most certainly never felt the same sense of duty. Izzie had never made him feel this much in love. Her eyes hadn't lit up and her body hadn't responded the way JJ's was. "JJ?" he whispered.

Her blue eyes, sapphire with passion and lust, met his as she arched her back and her hips shot upwards as he touched her softly. "Yes?" she asked breathlessly.

His lips touched hers again, gently at first then turning to scorching. "I love you," he said truthfully. "I really do love you."

Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I love you too," she whispered.

XXXXX

The next morning JJ's alarm went off and she groaned. She and Alex had been up all evening and into the early morning, talking and making love. He'd asked her questions about Henry and he seemed nervous when she mentioned him coming to the house after his vacation.

"_You'll be fine," she assured him, tracing the line of his cheekbone. "You were totally fine with Elizabeth."_

_He huffed. "Lizzie's an infant," he argued. "What if he doesn't like me? Do you think he'll hate me the way he seems to hate his stepmother?" He looked at her with actual worry in his eyes._

_She laughed and kissed him to stop his frantic speech. "As long as you don't demand he be cleansed of sin all the time I'm pretty sure he won't hate you," she said._

Looking at her phone that had buzzed with a text, she groaned when it was from Hotch telling them they had a case. She sat up and kissed the side of Alex's face, rousing him from his sleep. He looked up at her sleepily and yawned. "Everything okay?" he grumbled.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "We have a case," she murmured. "I have to go in."

He opened his eyes wider and sat up to pull her into his arms. "Shower first before you go in?" he said against her neck.

Pulling back, she looked at him with shock. "You're not mad?" she asked in surprise.

He arched an eyebrow. "I'm a surgeon JJ," he explained with a smirk. "It'd be hypocritical to get mad at you for going to do your job when I would do the exact same for mine."

Smiling, she shook her head and said, "It's just, Will always had some problems with it. He hated it when I had too many cases."

Moving hair from her face and cupping her cheek with his hand, he said, "I understand. The job. It's the same with being a surgeon. You have a duty to your patients the same way you guys have a duty to the people you save. I would never ask you to be someone you're not."

JJ smiled and pulled him close. "Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you so much."


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**I'm really sorry this is coming out so late! I've got exams this week and I'm really stressing :/ I hope everyone enjoys! Thanks for the reviews and I hope you review this next one too :)**

_6 Months Later_

_Morgan Residence_

"You're sure you don't want to wait to do this at the hospital tomorrow?" Callie asked Derek skeptically. It had been a six month journey for him in the wheelchair and Callie, now an orthopedic attending surgeon in a DC hospital, had deemed it okay for him to get up out of the chair and start using crutches along with a leg brace. "If you're not –"

Derek hit the arm of his wheelchair. "Dammit, I want out of this chair, Torres!" he growled. "So help me out of it so I can use the crutches."

Smirking subtly as she could, she nodded. "Alright then." Turning to Alex who was on standby for assistance, she added, "Karev, you take his left."

"On it," Alex replied, going to Derek's side and grasping his upper arm. Callie took his other arm and as they were getting prepared to help him up, Penelope came into the kitchen with a now seven month old Elizabeth in her arms. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Lizzie's arms shot out towards Derek and she wriggled in her mother's arms she was making it very clear she wanted to go to her father.

"Just a couple more seconds, sweetie," Penelope said, kissing the top of her head. "Daddy just has to stand up real quick." Lizzie gave a whine of protest. Pulling her up to face level, Penelope kissed her cheek and smiled wider. "Get moving, Hot Stuff," she teased. "Lizzie wants her daddy."

Smiling, Derek gritted his teeth and looked at both Alex and Callie. "Let's get this done," he grunted.

Callie nodded and directed him. "Pull yourself up in three…two…one."

Derek rose from the wheelchair, unsteadily at first. Though his leg was still in a long leg brace keeping his bones together, he would be able to walk about on crutches. Alex and Callie tried to accompany him as he went to his wife, but held up both his hands to stop them.

"I want to do this," he grumbled. He slowly began to limp towards Penelope and Elizabeth. His daughter's face brightened and she let out a squeal of delight as he got to her and picked her up. "Hey Princess," he cooed. "Daddy's walking again, so this means I can pick you up from your crib now!" He made a "whooshing" noise and raised her up in the air, causing her to giggle uncontrollably. "Look at you! You're on top of the world! You're flying!" He brought her back down and kissed her small cheek. Lizzie clapped her hands excitedly against his face and he blew a raspberry at her.

"She's such a daddy's girl," Alex snickered, leaning his back against the kitchen counter.

"That's right," Derek said in a voice higher than his usual baritone. "I'm going to go to every single dance recital and I'm going to help you study for spelling tests and I'm going to shake my gun around in front of every single one of your boyfriends and –"

Penelope put her hand over her husband's mouth and shushed him. "We get it, Baby Boy," she said. "You're going to be one of _those_ fathers that ruin their daughter's social life."

"So it would seem," Alex threw in.

Derek shot Alex a death glare. "You just wait, Karev," he said, bouncing the still giggling Lizzie in his arms. "If your baby is a girl, you'll feel the same exact way. Except instead of a gun you'll have a scalpel."

"I still hate that you guys don't want to know the gender yet," Penelope fake-whined, leaning against Derek. Elizabeth's hand went to her mother's face and she tried to take her glasses. "The suspense is killing me! As soon as we could find out, we asked." She stopped Lizzie's hands and grabbed a toy from the kitchen counter to give it to her.

Alex just smiled. He'd gotten a job at the same hospital where Callie was working, training to become a pediatric attending. When he wasn't working he was with JJ, preparing for fatherhood. JJ had introduced him to Henry months ago and so far he was trying to bond with him; he'd been successful in his attempts. As far as all of them could tell he was thrilled.

"You guys staying for dinner? The team shouldn't be back for another several hours," Penelope said.

Callie nodded. "Sure thing," she said. "Thanks for the invitation."

However, Alex shook his head and started to slide his arms into his cargo jacket. "Can't," he said with what looked like a solemn face. "I'm picking up Henry straight from that damn Bible group that his stepmother insists on sending him to."

Penelope smiled kindly at him. She loved that her godson was bonding with Alex. Though he hadn't proposed to JJ yet, he was certainly filling the role of awesome stepfather. "Okay then, you," she said. "Don't be a stranger." She went over to pull him into a hug and added, "Now go give Lizzie some loving before you go. She's going to miss her Uncle Alex."

Alex shook his head and laughed. Going over to Lizzie and Derek, he asked, "May I?"

Derek looked at him with an arched eyebrow, like he didn't want to give up holding his daughter. Alex tensed up a tad. The older man made him nervous because he knew he could flatten him with one punch. But Derek just grinned at him and held Lizzie out for him to take. He clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "I'm just messing with you," he said. He liked the fact that he freaked Alex out. It was funny to mess with him.

Alex gave a small "huh" and took Lizzie, giving her a small squeeze. "You be good silly baby," he chuckled. The little girl smiled at him and tweaked her nose and ruffled her black hair. "I'll see you all later." He handed Lizzie back to Derek and waved before heading out of the kitchen and out the door.

Lizzie clapped her hands together and giggled and Penelope smiled. "You're totally right, little one," she said. "He is doing pretty well."

XXXXX

Once Callie had left for the night after receiving a text from Emily that the jet had landed, Penelope took Lizzie upstairs to put her to bed. She turned on the baby monitor and started the mobile that played "Hush Little Baby" before kissing her daughter on the forehead and laying her down in the crib. She glanced back over her shoulder to look at her one last time and smiled lovingly. Flipping the light switch off, she sighed before heading downstairs again to find Derek on the couch. His leg was propped up on the ottoman in front of him and he was flipping through the channels on TV before settling for _Dog Soldiers. _She leaned against the hallway's entrance to the living room and grinned at her husband.

"What are you looking at?" he said, a small smile playing on his lips. He looked over at her and patted the spot next to him. She headed over to the couch and leaned into him.

"Just you, you handsome devil," she teased. "You're not so bad to look at, you know."

He tweaked her nose and kissed her temple, a gesture that was so normal for him to do before they were married or even dating. "You always know what to say, Baby Girl," he said before tilting her chin up to kiss her hungrily. Her tongue slid between his teeth and she melted into their kiss. Moving up to straddle his lap, she wrapped her arms around his neck and ground her hips against his, causing him to groan. His fingers entwined with her blonde curls and she hugged him close, their chests crushing together perfectly. They'd mastered their passion over the time of their relationship and knew just how to make it perfect. Their bodies became one when they made love and their senses ignited in an unstoppable frame.

As his calloused fingers brushed over her hardened nipples, he let out another groan. "You know how crazy it makes me when you don't wear a bra, Baby Girl," he said, pulling her shirt off over her head and baring her perfect breasts to him. "God these are beautiful. And all mine."

"All yours," she murmured huskily as he buried his face in between and suckled on one of her turgid nipples. She sucked in a breath as his teeth played with one and tugged gently. Her head fell backwards and she let out a sigh of pleasure at the tingling ache that just wouldn't go away. "Oh God, Derek," she moaned. "_Jesus_!"

He laughed and pulled her lips down towards his to kiss her fiercely. "I love you, Penelope," he said. He pulled his face back with his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist and allowed her to look into his eyes, black with lust, and she saw all the love shining in their deep pools.

"And I love you, Derek." And they continued to spend the rest of the night making sweet love on the couch, the movie entirely forgotten on the screen.

XXXXX

_Quantico Bible Church_

Alex arrived at Will and Cheryl's church at seven pm when Henry's Wednesday night Bible class was finishing up. His stepmother ran the group and every time she saw Alex she made sure her disgust for him showed. She hated the fact that she was still Ms. Cheryl while Alex had the privilege of not being called "Mister." It made him smirk every time he saw her face.

"Alex!"

As he entered the church's main doors, he saw Henry running towards him, his Spiderman backpack bouncing on his back and his blonde hair waving in his face. A huge grin was lighting up his face. When he reached Alex, he threw his arms around his legs and hugged him. He knelt down so he was at Henry's height and he gave him a hug back.

"Hey squirt," he said, holding out his fist to give him a fist-bump. "How was class?"

"We learned about Noah's Ark," he said, holding up a picture of a crayon drawn boat and a few animals. "Does it look good?"

"It looks great, buddy," he said enthusiastically. "Are you gonna give it to your Mom when she gets home?"

Henry nodded vigorously and smiled toothily. "Yep!"

As Alex was helping Henry into his coat, Will and Cheryl came up behind him and grimaced at him. Neither of them liked him very much and he'd specifically heard Cheryl mention how JJ being pregnant was a travesty as she wasn't married during the conception. All Alex had thought of that comment was Cheryl was lucky she wasn't a man; had she been, he would have knocked her out cold. Or at the very least had Derek do it.

"Hello, Dr. Karev," Cheryl said snidely. "We're glad you could come and pick Henry up seeing as his _mother_ couldn't."

Staring at her evenly, Alex replied through gritted teeth, "She was on a case. The team should be landing soon. If you had a job you'd know how that goes."

"Alright now, let's everybody calm down," Will said in his Southern drawl. "Doctor, thank you for coming to pick Henry up. Let JJ know we'll come get him next weekend." He put his hand on his wife's back and began to lead her away.

Henry was just looking around awkwardly and Alex felt guilty for making the young boy see any of the spat between him and Cheryl. "Hey buddy," he said gently. "You ready to go home? Mom's going to be there really soon."

Nodding, Henry said, "Yep. All ready Alex."

XXXXX

_5 Months Ago_

_Residence of Jennifer Jareau and Alex Karev_

"_Alright, so Henry's going to be here any minute and Alex is acting like a nervous wreck," JJ told Emily and Penelope with concern. They were all gathered together for Henry's birthday party and it was the first time Alex would be meeting him. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."_

"_Ah, the usually single man's fear of children," Emily said, sipping her lemonade. JJ had specifically asked that there be no alcohol present as there would be young kindergarteners running all about their yard. Right then though, the three women were standing in the kitchen. "But I think it's a good sign. It means that he wants Henry to like him."_

_Penelope nodded in agreement. She was holding Lizzie the entire time and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Right," she said. "When I told Derek that I was pregnant with this little monkey, he got really scared after the first few days of being ecstatic, wondering if he was cut out for the job of being a father or not. He warmed right up to it though." Lizzie made a gurgling noise from her arms and she kissed the top of her curly black-hair head._

"_Don't you worry," Emily said, patting JJ's arm._

_As JJ was about to respond, the doorbell rang and she nervously went to it. Will and Cheryl had been invited on the condition that Cheryl keep her vile racist comments to herself. She opened the door and smiled widely at her son. "Hey little man!" she cried, picking him up and hugging him. "Happy Birthday!"_

"_Mom!" he said excitedly, throwing his arms around her neck._

_She set him back to his feet and moved from the doorway to allow Will and Cheryl to enter. They would primarily be awkward guests, but she wouldn't deny Henry having his father at his party. Penelope and Emily came out of the kitchen and looked coolly at the newest guests to arrive. They both were extremely wary of Will and hated to see him anywhere near JJ._

"_Hello ladies," Cheryl said, casting a rather disgusted look at Penelope and her daughter. "I see your daughter is looking well."_

_Penelope pursed her lips to a thin line and responded, "Thank you."_

_As Cheryl was about to say something else, Alex appeared from the sliding door that led to the yard and his eyes grew wide when he laid eyes on Henry. JJ smiled and went to take his hand before leading him towards Henry. His movements were stiff and he looked like a bundle of nerves ready to explode. "Henry, honey," she said, kneeling down to his face level, "I want you to meet someone. This is Alex." She gestured to him and added, "He's very special to me and I wanted him to meet you."_

_Henry looked up at him and blinked several times._

_Alex cleared his throat and knelt down to look at Henry more closely. "Hi Henry," he said nervously. "Um, I'm Alex," he said._

"_Hi," Henry said meekly._

_Pulling a wrapped present from his back pocket, he handed it to him and said, "So, I got you a present for your birthday. You're turning six right?" Henry nodded and Alex smiled again, this time a little more relaxed. "Well, I got you a present. Do you want to open it?" He nodded one more time and started to hesitantly unwrap the paper. When he had all the paper off, there was a small box that contained an arrowhead. "I found this when I was your age," he said. "I kept it all these years and never knew what to do with it until your mom told me it was your birthday. I wanted you to have it."_

_Smiling softly, Henry replied, "Thank you…Alex."_

XXXXX

JJ walked through the door and rubbed her pregnant belly, now distended outwards. Henry was so excited to be a big brother and she was glad he'd bonded with Alex. They were becoming buddies. She was thrilled. "Alex?" she called. Henry would already be asleep by now, but Alex would be awake still.

She pulled her coat off and went into the living room. She found Alex sitting on the couch, Henry asleep with his head on his lap. It warmed her heart to see the scene. Alex looked up at her and grinned, putting his finger to his lips in a "be quiet" motion. Whispering, she said, "Hey you. How'd dinner go for you?"

"Good," he whispered back. "He ate every last veggie I put on his plate." He rose from his seat on the couch, careful to not disturb Henry. Going over to her, he placed a kiss on her lips and smiled. He then put both his hands on her belly and said, "How was the flight?"

She nodded and said, "Good." He opened his mouth to say more but she grinned and held her hand up to add, "And before you freak out, junior is fine. Kicking up a storm, but fine."

He kissed her again and put his hands on where their child was. "Good," he murmured. "Should we get this little guy to bed now?"

"Absolutely," she said, taking his hand before going to help carry Henry to bed.

XXXXX

_Residence of Callie Torres and Emily Prentiss_

"Hey, I'm home!" Emily called out as she unlocked the door to her apartment she now shared with Callie. No one spoke for a moment and she said, "Hey, Cal? You here?"

"In the den," Callie said. She smiled when Emily came in and she got up to go to her. Pulling her into a swift kiss, she added, "Welcome home."

"Oh, thanks," she purred, touching Callie's cheek. "What are you up to?" she added, looking at the computer she had open on the coffee table in front of her.

"I was just looking at more real estate," she replied. The two of them were looking for a house together now.

"Ooh!" Emily said excitedly. "Anything good?"

Callie nodded. "A few," she responded. She glanced down at her watch and cursed. "Damn." She looked at Emily with a pout on her face before wrapping her arms around her waist. "I've got a surgery at seven tomorrow. I need to get to sleep. Do you have to go in tomorrow?"

Emily shook her head. "Nope," she said. "Hotch gave us two days off. Thank God because I am beat." The two of them made their way into the bedroom and started to put their pajamas on. When they were through and crawled into bed, cuddling up together under the covers, Emily's arms wrapped around her waist and kissed Callie's neck. "How was Derek? Walking going okay?"

"Yeah," she yawned. "It went really well. He's cracking jokes finally and he was acting _extremely _lovey-dovey with Penelope. Pleasant."

This caused Emily to laugh. "Oh, really?" she said. "He's pleasant already? I thought it would be at least until he could start working out again before that happened." She sighed. "I guess that little girl of theirs just brings the light side of him out. I never thought I'd see him so happy except for the day he got married to Penelope. She made him wonderful again."

"Lizzie is the most important thing to them in the whole world," Callie murmured.

There was something melancholy in her voice and Emily knew it was from the desire to have children. Her previous partner had left her because she didn't want them and it had left Callie broken for a while. It had been weighing on her mind heavily, the thought of having children with Callie. She knew she wanted children, but she didn't know if she was ready herself. Thinking of Penelope with Lizzie made her feel more confident. The love between mother and daughter was so blatantly clear that she was sure it would come to her when she saw a child of her own.

So nipping at Callie's ear, she whispered against her skin, "I'm ready for a little one when you are."

Callie turned over to face her with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Really," she said with love and sincerity in her voice.

"I love you, Emily," she whispered, kissing her tenderly.

Emily smiled against her lover's neck and turned the bedside light off. "Love you too," she murmured sleepily.


	23. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Nope, neither belongs to me.**

**So we have reached the end of this tale :( This is the epilogue where we fast forward five years. Lots of toddlers running around in this! And at the request of Prettypinkbubble I will be doing another Callie/Emily story. Not necessarily a continuation of this, but Torentiss none the less. Enjoy and thank you for the reviews so far!**

_5 Years Later_

The sun was shining brightly down on the Morgans' beachfront property Derek had finished renovating the week before. It was the Fourth of July and the whole BAU family was there, including a visiting Mark and Lexie and their two sons. Currently, Lexie was playing in the water with her four year old James and the now ten year old Henry. Mark and Lexie tried to bring their family out to DC every year to visit Callie and Alex and their new found friends in the BAU that they'd made all those years ago when Derek and Rossi had come in with their injuries from the car accident. They loved them like they were family now as well and their sons loved seeing their aunties and uncles.

"Aunt Lexie!" Henry laughed as she splashed some water at him. "Do you really want to start a water fight with me? You _know_ I'll win."

Lexie grinned and she looked down at the top of James' head. "Think we can take him, buddy?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. "I'm coming to get you Henry!" He let out a playful roar and they splashed water at him. Henry just laughed and picked James up in his skinny arms. All the sudden, though, Mark came charging into the surf, hollering as he went. Henry jumped with surprise and put James on his feet in the shallow water. Crossing his arms on his hips, he grunted, "Uncle Mark, you're ruining my mojo!"

Mark laughed and ruffled his hair. "My bad, kid," he said with a smirk.

On the shore, sitting on a towel with her giant sunglasses covering her eyes was JJ. She was leaning up on her elbows and watching her oldest child play in the sun, the UV rays lighting up his head. She smiled. Her life had become blissful in the last five years. Though Alex and she had yet to be married, they had three wonderful sons together and he raised Henry like he was his own son. Next to her, five year old Sam was attempting to read a picture book while the three year old twins Colin and Michael were a few feet away in the sand, Elizabeth bossing them around about making the perfect sand castle.

"Put that right _there_, Colin," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "It has to look perfect!"

JJ laughed at the sight. Lizzie was the spitting image of her mother from the identical cocoa-colored eyes to the control issues and having to have everything perfect. Though she was only building a sandcastle and ruling over the twins with an iron fist at the moment, she was also extremely sweet and loved the other children like they were her flesh and blood siblings. But because the sandcastle was for Derek, she was running around demanding every grain of sand be in its proper place. The little girl was the most notorious Daddy's Girl anyone had ever met.

"Hey Jayje," Emily's voice said from behind her. She looked up above her to see Callie and Emily, both of them dressed in swimsuits. Callie held their one year old Braeden close to her while Emily was holding their daughter Maddie's hand. "Mad, are you going to say 'hi' to your aunt JJ?" Emily asked her daughter gently. She knelt down and pointed towards JJ. "I'm sure she'd like a hug."

Maddie, who was four and incredibly shy, even around people she knew well, clung to Emily's neck and peeked out from the at JJ. "Hi, Auntie JJ," she said meekly, so soft her voice could barely be heard above the waves crashing against the shore.

"Hey Mads," she said, smiling softly. She turned her attention to Braeden who was looking around at everything with his wide eyes. Since Callie and Emily had each carried one of their children, Braeden looked a lot like Emily and it was shocking to look into his eyes because one could easily mistake them for Emily's. "How's this little guy doing today?"

Callie sat on the blanket beside JJ's towel and sighed, adjusting him on her lap. "Always hungry," she said.

"Torres!" Mark came jogging up with his three year old son Thomas on his shoulders. "About damn time you got here!" He grinned widely and sat down next to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Great to see you."

"Hey yourself, Mark," she said, giving him a tight hug and kissing little Thomas on the forehead. "And hey to you too Tommy, bud," she added.

"Aunt Callie!" he cried excitedly in his three year old voice. "I missed you so much."

Callie smiled. "I missed you too, buddy." She looked down into her arms as Braeden started to wriggle and try to get out to crawl around on the blanket. Reluctantly she let him, but it pained her to see him growing up and away from her. One day he would want to be fiercely independent and she would have to let him go. Sighing as Thomas started to play with her son, Callie glanced around and frowned. "So where are Alex, Derek, and Penelope? This is their place isn't it?"

JJ looked down the beach and pointed towards Derek and Penelope who were walking hand in hand. Their little twin girls, Regina and Emma were skipping only a little ahead of them. Penelope's hands were resting on her fully pregnant belly and Derek stopped them to pull her into a loving embrace, pressing a kiss on her neck. "Coming our way," she said. "As for Alex, he's been off somewhere." Her face looked a little forlorn as she spoke.

"Hmm," was all Callie said, but inside she was jumping for joy. She knew exactly what Alex was up to.

Regina and Emma reached the blanket ahead of their parents and each of them barreled into one person; Emma into Emily and Regina into Mark. "Hi!" they both squealed at the same exact moment.

"Hey sweetheart!" Mark said, hugging Regina. "You having fun?"

Regina nodded swiftly and grinned toothily. "Lots of fun, Uncle Marky!"

Emma let go of Emily's neck and waved at Maddie. "Hi Maddie!"

Maddie just looked at her and gave her a shy smile.

Penelope and Derek reached the blankets and waved at Callie and Emily. "Hey you two," Penelope said as Derek helped her sit in one of the beach chairs they'd brought with them. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Emily said. Maddie, who'd been sitting next to her and leaning against her, held her tightly, but waved at Derek and Penelope. Emily smiled at her daughter and kissed the top of her head. At least she was coming out of her shell as the minutes passed by. "Good to see you guys. How're you feeling, Pen?"

Nodding, Penelope grinned broadly. "This little girl's been kicking up a storm." She rubbed her belly and looked up at her husband to wink. "This one here's been excited for another daughter to spoil. As if three weren't enough already."

Derek just grinned. "All my little girls deserve all the love in the world," he said hoisting Emma up into his arms and tickling her. "Just like my Baby Girl."

"Daddy!" Emma giggled. "That tickles!" She kicked her little legs and hugged his neck. "You're silly."

"You've got that right," Hotch said as he came up with Rossi and Jack with him. He grinned and Rossi let out a chuckle.

"You're going to have a lot on your plate, Morgan," Rossi laughed. He looked over to see Elizabeth rushing towards them. "Hey Lizzie!" he said.

Lizzie barely looked at him as she said, "Hi Uncle Dave." She went to her father's side and tugged on his swim trunks to get his attention. "Daddy, come and see this sandcastle Michael and Colin and I made! I asked them to help me make it for you!"

Derek smiled down at his oldest daughter and set Emma back down on her feet. Taking Lizzie's hand, he said, "Lead the way, little monkey."

Smiling brightly, Lizzie led the way to where the twins were still playing and started gesturing to her work. Penelope looked on at her husband and oldest child and felt as happy as she had on the day she was born and Derek had reemerged from his coma. She felt so blessed to have her family and smiled warmly at Regina and Emma who were now coming over to her. "Hey girls," she murmured, touching Regina's cheek and pushing some of hair behind Emma's ear. "How're my little girls?"

"Can we feel our sister?" Regina asked with hopeful eyes. She arched a brow and Penelope had to cough on laughter at how much she looked like her father in that moment. "_Please_ Mommy?" she begged.

"Yeah, _please_?" Emma said, mimicking her twin's pout.

Penelope nodded and allowed her twins to touch her belly where they gasped with delight when they felt a kick. "Mommy!" Regina exclaimed. "We felt her move! We felt it!"

Emma nodded dynamically in agreement. "We swear it, Mommy!"

JJ giggled at the sight of her and Emily's goddaughters bouncing around their mother. She sighed and looked around for Alex again, but didn't see him.

_I wonder where he is…_ she thought to herself.

XXXXX

Later when the sun had gone down and they were all sitting on the deck lit by candlelight. Alex had finally reappeared and was looking extremely chipper the entire time. JJ looked over at him and observed him oddly. Callie on the other hand couldn't stop grinning and she took Emily's hand to give it a squeeze. They shared a knowing glance and Emily kissed her cheek.

"Mommy, I'm tired," Thomas yawned from Lexie's lap. He leaned against her shoulder and his eyes were fluttering shut.

Lexie kissed his cheek and whispered, "We can get you to bed in just a few minutes. We've got to wait on something." She smiled at Alex from where she was sitting and gave him a small nod.

Taking a deep breath, Alex stood up from where he had been sitting and clinked his glass with his spoon. "Umm, attention everyone," he said. Looking at JJ, he said, "JJ, we've been together for five years. We've got four sons and a wonderful life together and I should've done this years ago." He descended to one knee and produced a small red velvet box from his shirt pocket. Tears filled her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Jennifer Jareau, will you marry me?"

She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him gently. "Yes," she murmured. "Of course I'll marry you." They rested their foreheads together and were oblivious to the rest of the group for a moment before Sam shook his father's sleeve and asked in confusion, "Dad, what's going on?"

Alex laughed and kissed Sam's forehead. "Just some really happy stuff, buddy," he murmured, deciding that was all he needed to know.

Breaking the rest of the silence at the table, clapping broke out and they looked up to see the thrilled faces of everyone at the table. Penelope even had tears in her eyes. The kids, save for Henry and Jack who were old enough to understand what was going on, looked at their parents in confusion. As everyone went around giving their congratulations to the newly engaged couple, Derek held Penelope back for a moment and wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. "I suppose my accident way back when was a good thing after all," he murmured. "Four people got together and had some beautiful babies. Love…blossomed it seems. Just like it did for us, Baby Girl."

She giggled and tilted her head back to kiss him. His arms wrapped around where their fourth child was and he kissed her again, this time harder. "I love you, Derek," she whispered, her voice filled with passion.

"I love you too, Penelope," he replied. "What do you say we go congratulate the soon to be newlyweds?"

"Let's do it," she murmured as they went forward hand in hand.


End file.
